


sweet revelation

by stimhack



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Camboy!Shiro, Exhibitionism, M/M, Masturbation, Shiro is so hot you guys, Voyeurism, Webcam/Video Chat Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-14 18:18:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8024137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stimhack/pseuds/stimhack
Summary: Keith Kogane needs to let off some steam after coming into contact with way too much Takashi Shirogane, the golden boy of Galaxy Garrison. He ends up with a paid subscription to PaladinsLive and a hard-on for a faceless stranger behind a webcam, but his crush on Shiro isn't getting any easier to handle. One hot guy ruining his life is bad enough, but two? Keith's hormones are going to be the death of him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the timeframe for this is weird so don't think about it too hard. they're all BFFs at the garrison together and shiro's already been galra'd but not really. pidge uses she/her pronouns. they're probably not old enough to drink? fight me.
> 
> title is from "thinking of you" by a perfect circle which is literally a song about jerking off while thinking about anal sex. what a wonderful world ♪

"Aw, YEAH!"

Keith and Pidge looked up from their tablets to find Lance charging down the long hallway towards them, pumping both fists in the air. Hunk trailed behind him looking defeated and shaking his head. Pidge sighed from her spot on the bench and shared a tired look with Keith. They had both been waiting for what felt like hours to finish their evaluations in the simulator.

"Lance, what did you break."

"What- hey! I come bearing good news. We have the rest of the day off, all thanks to me."

Hunk slumped against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. "He broke the simulator pod."

"The... pod? You broke the whole fucking simulator pod?!"

Lance shrugged. "I'm a wild card, Pidge. Sooo, we going out?"

Keith tucked his tablet back in his jacket and stood, stretching his arms behind his back. He was sore all over after a brutal sparring session that morning and was ready to waste the rest of the day away in his bed. Before he could come up with a reasonable excuse for not going, Pidge was dialing Shiro on her tablet. Nevermind. Keith knew he wasn't staying in now.

"He's not answering. Anyone know what Shiro had scheduled for today?"

Lance threw an arm over his face dramatically and groaned. "If we have to track Commander Tight Ass down, we're never getting out of here. Can we just, y'know, go?"

"Shut it, Lance," Keith said, shouldering past him towards the dormitories. "I'll get Shiro, we'll meet you in town." Lance snickered and waved him off. Before Keith made it out of earshot, he could hear Hunk pleading with Pidge to "just let it go, there's no use, he really broke it good this time."

 

 

Keith stalked through the garrison halls with his arms hugged tightly across his chest. He was a nervous mess around Shiro lately, especially when it was just the two of them, and it was becoming harder every day to hide it. His crush was as embarrassing as it was hopeless. It was bad enough that he was stupidly gorgeous and hewn from a block of marble, but did Shiro have to be a total fucking sweetheart too? All he had to do was rest a firm hand on Keith's shoulder and the boy was ready to drop to his knees. Keith's tablet beeped twice from inside his jacket. He could already guess who the messages were going to be from.

2 Unread Messages

**itslancebitch** : ahahahhah u want shiros dick so bad hahahah  
**itslancebitch** : stole ur bike meet us at quarks u nerd (ง'̀-'́)ง

"Yeah, bite me." Keith swiped the messages away and checked Shiro's contact window. He had been idle for 30 minutes already. Maybe he really was asleep, though Keith had never seen him nap in the middle of the day. The guy was a machine and followed a rigorous academy routine even on their rest days. That's why Keith was so surprised when he opened Shiro's door to find him shirtless and hunched over his laptop, the only light in the room coming from the dim glow of the screen.

The door slid closed behind him and Keith tapped lightly on the bedroom wall to announce his presence. "Hey, you're alive."

Shiro inhaled sharply and sat straight up in his seat, snapping the laptop shut and swiveling his chair away from the door. "Keith, hey, just one second-" He cleared his throat and stood with his back to the younger boy, grabbing an undershirt off of his bed and tugging it over his head quickly. His hair fluffed up from the static and damn if that wasn't the cutest thing Keith had ever seen. Shiro smoothed the front of his shirt down with his palms and turned around, flicking a desk lamp on and finally facing Keith. "Sorry about that. Everything okay?"

_Oh._ Keith's throat went completely dry. Shiro was flushed pink all the way down past his collar and he was breathing a little too fast for a guy who had just been sitting down at his desk. His bottom lip looked wet and bitten and his skin was covered in a sheen of sweat and oh. Keith just walked in on Takashi Shirogane beating off.

"Um. Yeah. Everything's fine, you weren't answering our, um." Keith shoved his hands deep in his pockets and looked everywhere but at the man in front of him. If he were Lance, he could have just pointed and laughed at Shiro and made a joke out of the whole situation, but that's because Lance didn't have a crush on Shiro the size of a battle cruiser. Keith did and he was pretty sure he could smell the guy's dick from where he was standing. "Our evaluations got cancelled so we're all going out if you wanna come. To town, with us." Shit.

Shiro nodded once and scrubbed a hand through his undercut. "Sounds great. I just need a shower first, so I'll catch up with you?"

Keith gave an awkward thumbs up and started backing towards the door. "We're meeting at Quarks. Sorry, for, uh." He felt behind him for the door switch and gave it a hard smack. Shiro just smiled and gave a little wave as he strolled into the bathroom. Keith turned and ran out of the open door like he was being chased and didn't stop running until he was outside the academy walls, far away from the heat of Shiro's bedroom. He was never telling anyone about this. Not about how Shiro's bare back looked in the low light, not about how his chest rose and fell while he tried to catch his breath, and especially not about the video camera Keith saw pointed right at Shiro's empty chair.

 

 

The synth bassline was thudding against his eardrums and the neon strip lights that ran throughout Quarks washed everyone's skin out in harsh blues and violets. The crowd around the bar on the ground floor was packed three deep already, and Keith really hoped his friends were smart enough to escape to the roof. He made it to the top of a narrow steel staircase just as a new track blasted from the speakers and he spotted Hunk on the other side of the crowd, trying to pull a dancing Lance down from the glass bar top. Keith had a lot of catching up to do.

" _Keith,_ oh my god! C'mere man!" Lance wrestled out of Hunk's grip and bounced over to Keith. "We're drinking green things! Pidge is a magician, she just, watch!" He hiccuped and pulled Keith up to the bar, falling heavily onto the only free stool. Lance clapped his hands and yelled right into Pidge's ear, "DO THE THING!"

Pidge rolled her eyes and flagged down the bartender for a round of shots. Four glasses clinked down in a row and were filled one-by-one by the barkeep from a stainless steel cocktail shaker. Keith pushed his credit card over the counter before Pidge could put it on her probably outrageous tab. "It's not magic, Lance, it's called money," Keith said, picking up a glass and knocking it against the others' in turn. The foggy green drink burned sweet down his throat and he hissed between his teeth, slamming his glass down and motioning for another. If Shiro was as efficient as he always was, Keith only had a few minutes to get good and drunk before the man got here. He threw back another shot as soon as it was placed in front of him and coughed.

Hunk laughed and slapped Keith's back a little too forcefully. "Slow down, you'll get sick."

"I'm fine. Lance is the one who's going to be on the bathroom floor tonight," Keith said, rubbing the back of his hand across his mouth.

"Ah, he'll be fine, I'm cutting him off." Hunk leaned over the counter and said something to the bartender, who came back a minute later with an ice cold bottle of water and a stack of clean shot glasses. "Lance, buddy, look at what I got!" Keith snorted when Lance practically crawled into Hunk's lap to do shots of water. Pidge cheered him on while she held up her tablet, recording the whole thing. Keith rubbed a finger around the rim of his empty glass and grinned. It was good to get away from cadet life for a night.

 

 

Keith was nursing a cold bottle of light beer that tasted vaguely like carbonated urine when a large, warm hand settled low on his back. He swallowed a mouthful of liquid too fast and tried not to choke when Shiro leaned past him to order a drink, hair still wet from the shower. The rest of the team shouted happily from their stools when they noticed him and Shiro chuckled. "You guys are a mess."

"What, we can't be happy to see you?! This guy!"

Keith smiled sheepishly but didn't speak up, too fixated on the hand pressed against his spine. The hand that wasn't moving. He took a long pull from his beer and tried to steady his breathing.

"Didn't you guys have some kind of evaluations tonight?"

"Yeah, we did, then Lance happened."

"God, the whole sim pod! And I don't even understand how!"

"We told you, Pidge, he-"

"Initiated an irreversible system shutdown with his elbow by _dabbing?_ No, that's too stupid, even for him."

Lance gestured to the bar at large and threw his hands in the air. "Um, you're welcome?"

"What is dabbing?"

Everyone stopped talking at once and turned on their stools to glance back at Shiro, then turned back towards the bar.

"Dude. Nobody tell him. The image of Shiro dabbing, I-"

Hunk laughed so hard he almost tipped his bulk backwards off his stool. Shiro didn't respond. He reached forward to take his beer, passing his card to the bartender with a polite nod. He looked down at Keith and finally pulled his hand away from his back. Shiro's white shirtsleeves were rolled back to his elbows, letting the neon lights glint off of his metal prosthetic in soft hues that reminded Keith of watercolors. He gripped his bottle tightly as he let his gaze roam up past the bulge of Shiro's biceps, the thick column of his throat, his strong jawline, his mouth that was moving-

"What?" Keith asked, cutting him off.

Shiro blinked and started again. "I was just asking if you were alright, you've been quiet."

Great. Keith had been staring at Shiro so hard he didn't even hear him talking. "It's the music, it's too loud," Keith lied, pointing at his ears and shrugging.

Shiro pressed his lips together and glanced around the bar. He leaned down and spoke right next to Keith's ear. "Wanna go someplace quiet?"

Keith felt a rush of heat down his spine and opened and closed his mouth wordlessly. Was Shiro just being considerate or was he actually trying to get Keith alone? Nah. The alcohol must be screwing with Keith's head. Suddenly the image of Shiro sweaty and half-dressed in his dorm came back to mind and Keith tilted his beer up, chugging the last third of the bottle.

"Chug! Chug!" Pidge was pounding her tiny fists on the bar and chanting, applauding Keith when he finished. He pushed the empty bottle over the counter and suddenly didn't know what to do with his hands. Shiro was watching him patiently, waiting for an answer.

"I, I don't know, you sure you don't want to just hang out here with these guys?" Keith asked.

"Hey, I heard that!" Lance spun around and pointed accusingly at the two of them. "Where are you guys going? No, sit." Lance barreled off of his seat towards Keith and grabbed his shoulders, pushing him down onto the stool. "There." Lance swayed heavily and leaned against Hunk's back for balance, shooting finger guns at a stranger across the room.

Pidge immediately started a rambling conversation with Keith about tablet apps and he looked back over his shoulder at Shiro, who was looking down at his beer and rubbing his thumb against the label. Keith couldn't tell if he should be thanking Lance or strangling him. Right now he was too exhausted to do much of anything. Keith asked Hunk to pass him the bottle of water and nodded along to Pidge's slurring, wondering if he was just imagining the lingering warmth on his lower back.

 

 

Keith didn't know how long he had been leaning his elbows against the bar and staring off into space, but it was long enough that when he looked to his right, Hunk and Lance had disappeared and left an empty stool next to him. The bar was starting to clear out now and Pidge was already sobering up and swiping away at her tablet, lost in her own world.

Keith was grateful for the lack of conversation. Shiro left before even finishing his second beer and Keith had to pretend not to be disappointed. The older cadet always left early and never drank enough to really let loose, and Keith would have given his left nut to see how Shiro acted when he was hammered. Would he be even more hands-on with Keith than he normally was? Maybe he'd even venture out on the dance floor for once. Keith shifted on his stool. It was getting late and after the amount of Shiro he'd been exposed to tonight, he really needed time alone in his bunk. He closed his tab with the barkeep and stuffed his credit card in his back pocket.

"I think I'm gonna head out. Are you guys gonna be okay getting back?"

Pidge didn't even look up from her screen before nodding and flapping her hand at Keith. "Hunk's a horse and Lance has been drinking water for an hour, he's not as drunk as he looks." Keith peered out over the bar and saw Lance on the dance floor, shouting along to the music with his eyes closed and trying to climb Hunk's arm like a spider monkey.

"Alright, I'll see you at breakfast." Keith clapped a hand on Pidge's shoulder and stood up. He caught a glimpse of her tablet and stopped short. "What're you watching?"

Pidge's screen was filled with a grid of video feeds, each showing a different part of the Garrison. She tapped on the screen and enlarged a video of what looked like the instructor's lounge, but room was dark. "Security feed for the whole academy. I got bored and hacked their cameras." Pidge tapped again and enabled night vision, turning the screen a bright green. "If they made a TV show like this I would so watch it," she murmured to herself.

Keith thought back to the camera in Shiro's room. What did he even use it for, anyway? Suddenly he had an idea that he was totally ready to blame on the liquor. "Pidge, could you hack any of the cameras in the building? Even, like, webcams in the dorms?"

Pidge startled Keith with a harsh laugh. "Maybe, but dude! I would never. That's just twisted."

Keith's gut curled in shame. Yeah, he was being a creep. What was he going to do, spy on Shiro? No, that was insane. He said goodnight to Pidge and tried to wave to the others, but Hunk was busy putting Lance in a headlock. Keith smiled, but there was no heart in it. He wished he could get Shiro out of his head so he could have a little fun, too. He zipped his jacket up and slumped down the staircase. Keith was getting too used to leaving the bar alone.

 

 

1 Unread Message

**hgarett** : hey man you make it back ok?

Keith yanked his shoes off and flopped down onto his bed, groaning at how good the mattress felt. He toed his socks off and kicked them onto the floor.

**kkogane** : yea thanks hunk. gl with lance  
**hgarett** : just kill me dude

Keith swiped the message off his screen and stared at his tablet for a moment. He opened an incognito browser window and went to his usual porn portal, but after a minute of scrolling, he was already bored with it. He knew he didn't need the tablet. Keith just needed to think about Shiro.

Before he abandoned his search, he saw an ad for a camboy site called PaladinsLive and tapped it out of curiosity. He expected to be bombarded with pop-ups and payment options, but instead, Keith was looking at a clean black page with just a few video thumbnails linked below the PaladinsLive logo. He tapped on the first one and a live video feed of a skinny guy lying on his side filled his screen. Keith frowned and went back, tapping the second link. Again, he wasn't interested, and almost gave up before checking the third link.

Keith nearly dropped his tablet on his face when it loaded.

The video feed showed a man slumped down in his desk chair, rubbing himself slowly through a pair of charcoal grey Champion boxer briefs. The room was dark and he could only see from the waist down, but the guy was clearly older and built bigger than the boys in the other streams, and he was fucking hung.

"Shit," Keith swore as he flipped over onto his stomach and propped the tablet up on his pillow. He pressed his hips down against the mattress and gasped at how hard he already was. Maybe he didn't need Shiro to get off tonight after all. The man in the video let out a breathy moan as he squeezed the length of his cock through the fabric. Keith moaned with him and mouthed wetly at his fist, humping the mattress while he watched the stranger squirm in his seat.

"I don't know how long I can last tonight, guys," he said, "but I can already tell it's gonna be a good one. I've been needing to come since I left the feed earlier..." He trailed off as he lifted his hips up off the chair. Keith watched with his jaw hanging open as the man slipped the elastic band of his underwear down past his balls with one hand, letting his cock spring free and hang heavily in front of the camera. "Fuck, see how hard I am?"

"Uh-huh," Keith mumbled to the screen, wriggling his pants and briefs down over his ass and freeing his own dick.

"Wish I had a pretty mouth on me right now," the man said as he reached down to stroke his balls, weighing them gently in his hand. They looked soft and huge and Keith thought he might die if he didn't get to suck on them. God, he never jerked off to camboys before, why was he so hot for this guy? He wish he knew what his face looked like, or even just his name.

Keith reached down past his stomach to press his palm against his dick and wondered how long he could last like this. Another moan sounded from the tablet as the guy squeezed his cock and let a fat drop of precum roll down the shaft. He was cut and had to be a good nine inches long, and he was thicker than anyone Keith had ever been with. "I know I owe you guys a longer show but, fuck, I really need to come... is that okay with you guys?" Keith nodded dumbly and started humping the mattress faster, not even hearing how loud the springs were squeaking. He was gonna come all over his sheets in a minute anyway.

Suddenly the stream froze and the screen went black. "Your free preview has expired. Want to keep watching PaladinsLive? Select one of our easy payment options below."

"Shit!" Keith punched the pillow and shuffled up to his knees, his pants still caught around his thighs. He felt around in a panic for his credit card and pressed it against the tablet, letting it scan the card information. He selected the cheapest monthly plan and tapped through the dialog windows as fast as he could. If he wasn't quick enough, the guy was going to come without him, and Keith almost sobbed at the thought.

Finally he tapped past a payment confirmation screen and threw his credit card onto the floor as the camera feed resumed. There was a chat window in the corner of the screen now and Keith watched the messages fly by with filthy encouragements for the guy on the camera.

**guest4873** : fuckkkk ur so hot im gnna cum  
**guest7174** : private chat?? come on baby  
**guest8053** : show us your pretty little hole  
**guest1907** : wanna swallow ur cum daddy..

Jesus, how many other people were watching this right now? And was this guy reading all of their messages? Keith wouldn't even know what to say to a complete stranger, so he ignored the chat and went back to rutting against the bed. The guy's hand was flying up and down his shaft now and Keith needed to catch up quickly.

"Unh, mm, yeah," the man breathed, his voice pitched higher than before. The noises falling from his mouth almost sounded familiar, but Keith didn't have enough blood in his brain to even think about that. "Are you guys close? I'm... fuck, gonna come soon..." Keith watched the man sink lower in his chair, spreading his knees wider for the camera and tensing his thighs. "Made me so fucking hard, wish you were here... I'd fuck your asshole open so wide, make you come on this big dick, baby, you want it? Gonna shoot my load deep inside your ass, make you lick it off my cock like a good boy, _oh,_ oh fuck, gonna come, gonna come..."

Keith bit down on his fist and whined as he watched the man seize up and come over his fist, his cock rigid and pulsing with every spurt. Keith thrust down against the bed frantically and came hard against the sheets, feeling it pool warm under his stomach. He let out a long, low moan as he writhed in the mess he made, too overwhelmed to keep his eyes on the screen.

"Heh, wow, told you guys it was gonna be good. I haven't come that hard in a long time. Hope it was just as fun for you..." Keith heard a shuffling noise and peeked his eyes open to see the guy lean out of frame for second, only to settle back down in the chair with a black towel in his hand. Keith watched him carefully wipe the mess off of his lap as he spoke to the camera and Keith actually felt a little jealous of the towel.

"I'm gonna turn in now, have an early one tomorrow. Thanks again for keeping me company." Keith hummed happily and let his eyes fall closed once more. He knew he should get up and change out of his dirty clothes, but he felt too good to move right now. He was going to sleep good tonight.

If he had just kept his eyes open a few seconds longer, Keith might have caught a glimpse of a metal arm entering the frame just long enough to turn off the camera.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> keith pls do your laundry

Keith woke up with a sore neck and stiff shoulders. He had fallen asleep facedown in bed, his legs splayed out like a frog, still mostly dressed and laying directly in the wet spot he made the night before. "Ugh..." He rolled into an upright position and reached for his tablet. He tapped the screen once with no response, tapped a few more times uselessly, then began to panic as he realized he never set the tablet back on its charger. He didn't even know what time it was. _Shit,_ what did he have scheduled today?

Keith slotted the tablet into its charging dock and tore his clothes off on the way to the shower. He scrubbed himself like a madman, paying a little extra attention to his groin, and made it back out into his dorm in record time. The tablet had been given a couple minutes to charge and was already flashing with notifications.

4 Unread Messages

 **Instructors_Office** : Your evaluation has been rescheduled for 1200 today. Please report to the simulator deck with your assigned partner(s) at that time.  
**pgunderson** : hey, didn't see you at breakfast, did you get the msg about our eval?  
**tshiro** : Are you still up for sparring today? If you're too tired from last night I understand.  
**tshiro** : Guess not. Let me know if you want to reschedule.

Fuck, it was almost noon already and Keith had completely blown Shiro off. He at least had enough time to eat something before he had to meet up with Pidge. He rushed out of his dorm towards the cafeteria, barely looking ahead of him and tapping quickly on his tablet.

 **kkogane** : hey sorry man my tab died and I slept in. hope you didn't wait too long  
**tshiro** : Don't worry about it. Make sure you eat something before your evaluation today.

Keith smiled to himself. Shiro was too much of a gentleman for his own good. Keith made sure to shoot a reply off to Pidge, then rushed into the cafeteria to grab whatever food he could chew the fastest. He was going to eat anyway, but he felt a small jolt of pleasure at the idea that he was following Shiro's orders.

 

 

Two hours later, Keith and Pidge exited the simulator pod to a round of applause. Their simulation was set at the highest difficulty level for students in their bracket, but they managed to survive and bring their targets to safety. An instructor stepped forward and glanced down at her tablet, then looked up at Pidge with a smile. "Nice work, cadet. Given the mission parameters, you were headed for certain engine failure. You're now at the top of the list for diagnostic accuracy."

Pidge beamed under the praise. "Thank you, instructor, I had a great pilot at the helm," Pidge said, nudging a pointy elbow into Keith's side.

"Yes, your pilot. Keith Kogane." Keith straightened his posture and gave a firm nod. "Your team's overall score for the simulation was superb, Keith," the instructor began, "but your decision to engage the rogue hostiles was deemed rash and unnecessary. You succeeded only in making Cadet Gunderson's job more difficult. Would you have used the same tactics in a real world encounter, putting your teammates' lives on the line?"

Keith clenched his jaw and kept his hands clasped tightly behind his back. This wasn't the first time an instructor called him out in front of his fellow students for being reckless at the helm. "I don't know, ma'am, I guess I'd just use my best judgment to keep my team alive."

"Which he did, by the way," a voice chimed in, and Keith noticed Lance standing off to the side, staring daggers at the instructor.

"Quiet! Yes, the mission objectives were met," the instructor snapped. "However, pending the results of your next evaluation, I'm assigning you to one-on-one simulator training with a senior cadet. You'll receive further details from our office shortly."

The cadets were dismissed and Keith's shoulders slumped. He expected a good score on his record and maybe a cursory pat on the back, and instead he got a lecture in front of the entire class. Lance pushed his way out of a line of people and slung his arms around Keith and Pidge. "Dude, what a hardass, right? What do the instructors know, anyway? They haven't been on a real mission in years."

Pidge hummed in agreement. "If Keith hadn't reacted so quickly, the enemy ships would have shot right through our fuel tank. The simulations are rigged, man, it's all left to blind luck."

Lance scoffed. "Luck? No way! It's all Kogane, baby!" Keith just shook his head and walked along, feeling a little less sorry for himself. Lance's pocket vibrated and he fell out of step to dig his tablet out. "Shit, I'm late for a thing, I gotta run."

"Me too. Dinner in the mess together later?" Pidge asked, eyes already fixed on her own tablet.

Keith scuffed his boot against the polished floor. "You guys go ahead, I don't feel like it tonight. I'll let you know which dick I get stuck training with."

Lance shook him by the shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it, man. You guys still got top ranks. For what it's worth, I'd go into battle with you any day." He gave Keith one last shake and turned down the hall, disappearing into an elevator.

"Wow. That was a little gay," Pidge said, dodging a shove from Keith. "Gotta run, though. Keep your tablet charged, will you?" She waved her own tablet in his face for emphasis and scurried in the other direction, leaving Keith standing alone. He leaned against the outer hull of the simulator pod and pulled out his tablet.

2 Unread Messages

 **Instructors_Office** : You have been assigned to one-on-one instruction with Senior Cadet Takashi Shirogane for the 0600-0700 block of your weekday schedule effective immediately.  
**tshiro** : Hey Keith, did you get the message from IO?

Keith kicked the heel of his boot back against the pod with a loud clang. Out of all the senior cadets, it had to be _him?_ Shiro was the best pilot in the garrison, and now the guy had to sacrifice an hour of his time every morning to try and shape Keith into less of a fuck-up. He was so pissed off at himself. This wasn't how he wanted to get up close and personal with Shiro.

 **kkogane** : got it. sorry you have to do this. still a shitty pilot I guess  
**tshiro** : You're not, Keith. This isn't punishment. I'll meet you at your dorm at 0600?  
**kkogane** : sure whatever bring starbucks

He felt guilty for giving Shiro the sarcastic treatment but he was too pissed off to show him respect right now. Keith wished he could start the whole day over. With nothing better to do, he opened his email app and started swiping messages into the spam folder. He accidentally jabbed his fingertip hard into the screen when he saw a payment receipt from PaladinsLive in his inbox.

Oh, man. Keith had gone the whole day without even thinking about it, but now all he wanted to do was get naked in his bunk with the guy behind the camera. He deleted the incriminating email and headed back to his dorm, breaking into a jog just for the hell of it. Maybe he'd feel better after he heard the camboy's voice again.

 

 

Keith settled into his desk chair and scooted closer to his laptop while he waited for the PaladinsLive homepage to load. This time, he was ready. The door was locked shut, lube and towels were on standby, and Keith was buck naked in his seat. A row of thumbnails filled the screen and he raced a finger across the track pad in search of last night's cam star. The first three streams were a bust. He checked the next page, and the next, until he had no more live feeds to browse through. What the hell? If last night was just a dream, it was a damn vivid one.

Keith gnawed on the edge of a fingernail and clicked on the menu icon in the corner of the page. It led him to a section titled "Meet Our Paladins" which featured a long list of strange names and photos, with only some showing their faces. He searched through the profiles fruitlessly, ruling out names like CuckoldCoran and SluttySendak. No one was built like the person from the night before or had a cock even close to their size. Keith was halfway down the list when he clicked on the profile for BlackLion and within two seconds, he knew he had his guy.

The profile image was cropped to only show from the belly button down, with a silky black happy trail leading down to a fully erect cock that hung heavily in front of the camera. The same Champion boxer briefs that he wore last night were yanked down around the man's thick, muscled thighs. Keith sighed like a schoolgirl reading a red, glittery valentine. BlackLion was a dream. There wasn't much written on his profile besides physical specs and a schedule for when he'd be live on camera. Keith whispered it under his breath as he read, committing the times to memory. He would be getting on camera in about ten minutes if the schedule was right.

There weren't a whole lot of different ways to pass the time when you were sitting naked in your dorm with the beginnings of a boner in your lap. Keith wrapped a hand around his length and tugged lightly. He started with images of BlackLion from last night, but without Keith's permission, they soon morphed into images of Shiro. Ace pilot Shiro touching himself the way Keith was now. Shiro showing up at his dorm in the morning and forcing his way inside to have his way with the younger boy. Shiro with a pizza box in front of his lap, ready to accept alternate forms of payment...

A red camera icon flashed on BlackLion's profile page and broke Keith out of his trance. A feeling close to infidelity flickered in his chest when he clicked the link to the live stream. Whatever, Shiro was just as unattainable as this guy was anyway. Keith nearly let out a laugh when the feed filled his laptop screen and focused once again on the man's crotch, clothed this time in tight black Calvin Klein briefs. He was starting to spend a lot of time staring at this stranger's dick.

"Hey, everyone. BlackLion here. Thanks for joining me again. I hope you're all having a nice day so far," he began. Keith smiled and let himself bask in the comforting timbre of the man's voice. "Before I get started, I'm supposed to let you guys know that I'll be changing my schedule before the next show. My mornings will be starting a little earlier now, which means I need to finish these shows earlier to accommodate my sleep schedule. Hope that doesn't upset anybody."

A couple people in the chat window complained and sent frowny emojis and Keith sucked his tongue at them. What kind of perv gets attached to a random camboy?

BlackLion let out a huff. "I know, I know. I'll try to make it up to you, though. I brought my box of toys with me, so if you guys are good, I'll let you choose what I fuck myself with tonight. Sound fair?"

The chat immediately blew up with responses. A shiver went down Keith's spine as he tried to imagine what kind of sex toys this guy had in his collection. He bought a couple dildos himself a few years ago, but disposed of them as soon as Hunk and Lance started making a habit of raiding his room for snacks. He'd always wanted to try more adventurous things, but without a partner to play with, Keith didn't see a point.

"Okay, you guys are throwing too many messages at me here," the man laughed. He adjusted his dick in his briefs for the camera and Keith felt his own twitch in his lap. "I'm going to do a five-minute private chat with one of you real quick, but in the meantime, I'll put a poll up on the screen. Most popular answer goes in my ass, or on my dick. Stay tuned..."

The video feed cut out and was replaced with a poll of sex toy options. Before Keith could begin to read it, a dialog box popped up.

 _Private PaladinsLive Session with BlackLion_  
Bidding will begin in 10 seconds. Click cancel at any time to exit.

Keith's blood went cold. He didn't know how any of this worked. Should he just hit cancel and forget about it? What even happened in a private session? He just wanted to watch, there was no way he could talk to the guy. The timer counted down to zero and Keith's hand started shaking, so he tucked his hands under his thighs and just stared at the screen. The dialog window disappeared and a new page loaded.

Enter a bid of $5.00 USD or more.  
(Winning bids will automatically be charged to the payment method associated with your account.)

Another timer counted down and Keith's nerves lit up. He couldn't see what other people were bidding, so how the hell was he supposed to know what to pay? Wait. Was he really doing this? He could still cancel the whole thing. Right now, though, his dick was in charge and it was a big fan of BlackLion. He bid $50 and pushed his hands through his hair, suddenly hoping his bid wasn't high enough.

Keith had no such luck. The page closed and brought him back to BlackLion's feed, which was live again, but with Keith as the only viewer. "Hey there. Wow, that's a lot. You heard me say this was only five minutes, right?"

Shit. Fuck. No. BlackLion was talking to him. Keith almost ducked away from the laptop before realizing they couldn't see him. He blew out a long breath and shook his elbows out, trying to get a hold of himself. Keith watched the man tug at the hem of his briefs and realized he was waiting for Keith to say something.

 **guest9480** : sorry i'm kind of new to this

"Don't be sorry, I'm flattered. It's sweet that you think I'm worth that much. This is usually a pay-by-the-minute deal, but I'm kind of strapped for time." Keith blushed at the direct attention and bit down on his thumb. "Can I ask if you're a guy or a girl? Or..."

 **guest9480** : i'm a guy. I just joined the site last night

"Mm. And you came back for more, huh?" Without warning, he lifted his hips and pulled his briefs off with one hand, showing Keith the full length of his cock. "I wanna make this good for you, since you're new. Do you have any requests? I'll say no if I'm uncomfortable with something, but I'm not too picky."

Keith's brain went offline. He didn't have a clue what this guy wanted to hear, and he didn't want to look stupid for saying the wrong thing. He was too nervous to even stay hard right now. This was the dumbest thing he's ever done.

"Don't be nervous, sweetheart. It's just you and me. You can say whatever's on your mind." God, this man was perfect. He was even starting to give Shiro a run for his money. Keith just wanted him to talk forever.

 **guest9480** : what do people usually ask for?

The guy hummed as he rubbed a finger along the base of his cock. "Hmm, that depends. Most people just want me to talk dirty to them until they come. Or they request something kinky that I don't normally do in the stream. Some people just want to get to know me better, though, which is fine. It's their money." He reached forward and tilted the camera more to the right of Keith's view. "We still have four minutes left, by the way."

Keith winced. Four minutes was enough time to come, but he wanted all the BlackLion he could get.

 **guest9480** : I like just having you talk to me. you have a really nice voice

"Thanks, I had to practice for a while to make it sound... sexier?" He chuckled and started stroking himself slowly from root to tip. Keith mimicked his movements and was fully hard again in record time. "I'm guessing you liked what you heard last night, then. Did I make you come, baby?"

Fucking hell. Keith's dick throbbed and he scooched back in his seat to give himself room.

 **guest9480** : uh-huh, I came right after you. made a mess on my sheets. even fell asleep in it

The man growled and started beating himself faster. "Fuck, you must have looked so pretty like that. Coming all over your bed for me? I would have made you lick it up and feed it back to me. Taste your sweet boy cum on your tongue, fuck. Are you touching yourself right now?"

Keith stopped just long enough to type a quick "yeah" and went back to stroking his dick, his jaw gone slack and stupid with the things being said to him.

"Good, you're doing such a good job for me. I wanna come with you before this is over, think you can do that? You're making me so fucking hard, I can't stop thinking about you in your bed, whining and panting while you touch yourself. I know you can't see much of me, but is it okay if I ask what you look like?"

 **guest9480** : about 5'10", black hair on the longish side, violet eyes, slim but I have some muscle  
**guest9480** : and what I can see of you is perfect btw

"Shit. Are you serious?" BlackLion stopped mid-stroke and gripped himself tightly, suddenly out of words to say. Keith stopped with him and nibbled at his bottom lip.

 **guest9480** : is something wrong?

"No. Sorry, no, you sound gorgeous, I just, I got distracted," he said, picking up where he left off and jerking himself faster. "You're just my type, actually, you sound like a fucking dream. Are you a virgin?"

Keith was grinning like an idiot at being called gorgeous by a stranger who had never even seen him. It didn't stop him from feeling on top of the world, though. He typed as quickly as he could and stopped to squirt lube on his palm before matching his stroking pace with the stranger.

 **guest9480** : no but it's been a long time, I want to save it for someone special now

"Someone special, huh? Keeping it nice and tight for some lucky guy? God, you must feel like heaven, not getting fucked for so long. I'd have to take my time prepping you for a cock this big. Put you on your hands and knees with your pants around your ankles, licking and fingering your little pink hole open until you were sobbing for it, crying and begging for me to fuck you... I'd train you not to come until you take it all the way in, fuck, have you drooling all over your chin when I pull you back onto my dick. Your hair sounds long enough for me to get my hands in and pull, do you like having your hair pulled during sex?"

 **guest9480** : no one's done it to me but I want it, a little pain is good  
**guest9480** : I love guys who take control

"Ugh, you're fucking killing me here, I don't want anyone else to touch you. I gotta have you so bad. We're running out of time though, baby, are you close?"

 **guest9480** : yea im trying not to come

"Uh-huh, me too, look at how hard you made me. Fuck. You're not allowed to come until I say you are, got it? I'm gonna make you watch me first, and when I tell you to, you're going to lay on your back and aim your cock right at your pretty face, do you hear me?"

Keith was so close to finishing that he had to take his hand off of his dick completely before he blew his load. The back of his neck was covered in sweat and his thighs were already sticking to the chair. He'd never felt wanted like this before and it was driving him wild.

The camboy on screen was slicking his cock up with extra lube, drizzling it right onto the head before massaging it down into the meat of his shaft. His balls were flushed pink and starting to draw up and Keith knew the man was just as wrecked as he was.

"I can't help myself, I have this picture of you in my head that's just perfect, you're so _beautiful_... I wanna be there with you, holding your jaw open with my thumb and coming right on your tongue, never looking away from your eyes when I do it, you'd be everything I ever wanted. No one else gets to see you like this. You belong here, to me, you're gonna close your eyes and come and imagine me there with you, got it? Do it Keith, right now, come for me right now, oh my god, fuck, I'm coming, I'm-"

BlackLion pounded his fist down right next to the camera as he came, toppling it onto its front and turning the video feed black, the loud noise startling Keith back to reality. He hadn't been able to hold back, slouching down in his seat and coming right as the man moaned that Keith belonged to him. Streaks of white made it all the way up to Keith's mouth. He was panting heavily now and fighting to keep his eyes in focus. He was in a daze, waiting for someone to lean down and kiss him, like he'd forgotten the whole thing didn't happen right here in his dorm. He even made himself believe the guy somehow knew his name.

Keith wiped down his front with a scarlet handtowel and sat upright in his chair again. A dialog window told him that the private session had ended and that a payment receipt would be in his inbox. Oh, yeah. He paid for this.

The fantasy started tearing itself apart as he realized that none of what just happened was real, and that BlackLion probably made boys like Keith fall in love every night. He slammed the laptop shut without checking to see if the man was back on camera again. Keith didn't want to hear his voice right now, not yet. His eyes were filling with hot tears and that just made him angrier, so he kicked his chair back as he stood and went to shower off, hoping his newfound delusions would wash down the drain, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk why keith is suddenly the most oblivious guy in the galaxy but i'm dying laughing like how many clues do you need bro. this guy could literally ask keith to call him "takashi shirogane" and keith would just be like wow that gives me a boner just like the shiro I know irl


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will keith finally wise up in this chapter or will he continue to be deaf and blind, place your bets now
> 
> (hi steph)

"Look at me, Keith. Do you want to stop?"

"No no, please, let me have it... I need help, it's too big..."

"Easy, Keith, relax, just like I taught you. Breathe now, in and out, you're doing fine."

"He's not gonna fit, I can't do it... oh! Ohmygod-"

"There you go, baby, let him in. Feel how big around he is? Don't tense up, just look at me and breathe, he still has a few inches to go. Can you take the rest of it?"

"I... _Shiro_..."

"I know, I know. I'm right here. Just lean back against me, okay? I'm not letting go of you. Easy, Keith, easy."

"Shiro, Shiro, I want, unh... more, gimme more..."

"He's all the way in, babe, you still need more? What do you want, huh?"

"You, I need _you,_ please..."

"Shh, I got you, don't worry. Can you reach back and take me out of my pants? I don't want to let go of you... There you go, that's all for you, now where do you want it? Keith? Are you awake?"

"Right here, please, Shiro..."

"Uh, Keith? It's Shiro, it's six o'clock."

 

 

Three quick raps on the door broke through the surface of his dream and pulled Keith back to his dorm room. Damnit. He wasn't ready or willing to open his eyes yet. His blankets were cozy and warm with his trapped body heat and he could probably get back to that really nice dream if he-

"C'mon, Keith, I'm feeling pretty stupid out here."

Keith's eyes snapped open at the sound of Shiro's voice. He was calling out from right outside his door. Keith threw his blankets off, shoving his legs into a pair of track pants and tugging on an oversized sweater. "Coming!" He cupped a palm over his mouth and huffed twice to check his breath, made sure his dream boner was completely dead, and hit the door switch.

"Hi," Shiro said flatly, standing in the hallway carrying a brown paper pastry bag and a drink carrier. He was wide awake and groomed to perfection and Keith had to squint to look directly at him.

"Dude, you actually went to Starbucks," Keith mused, stepping aside and letting Shiro into his room. The door sealed shut again with a hiss. "I was kidding about that."

Shiro shrugged one shoulder and set the food and drinks down on the edge of Keith's desk. "Yeah. I had a feeling you might be, but uh. Figured it wouldn't hurt." A delicate blush crept over Shiro's face and he scratched behind his ear. "You should have something anyway, it'll help wake you up."

Keith padded over to the desk and peeked in the bag, finding a ripe banana and a glazed cinnamon roll inside. His stomach gave a little growl and he rubbed it in sympathy. Shiro took a plain-looking coffee from the drink carrier and pushed the other cup closer to Keith wordlessly. Keith couldn't help but laugh. "What the hell is that?"

This time Shiro's blush spread to the tips of his ears. "I told the barista I was ordering for someone else and she asked me what you liked, and... they gave me that." It was huge, Barbie pink, and topped with a small mountain of whipped cream. He couldn't believe Takashi Shirogane walked through the halls of the garrison holding that. Keith took a long sip through the straw and smacked his lips, nodding his approval.

"Strawberries and creme, I think. It's pretty good," Keith said, feeling hyper-aware of Shiro's eyes on him. "Uh, I need to change into my uniform before we go, I'll be right back?" Shiro stepped out of the way and let Keith pass into the bathroom. He shut the door and slumped his body against it. Less than five minutes ago he was dreaming about Shiro pushing him forward onto BlackLion's dick, and now Shiro was here in the flesh, feeding him fruity drinks and waiting for him to get dressed. It was just past six in the morning and Keith really wanted a beer.

When he stepped back into his bedroom, Shiro was gripping his coffee cup with both hands and staring intently at Keith's unmade bed. He looked on edge. Keith tucked his wallet and tablet into his jacket and gathered up his breakfast, motioning towards the door to let Shiro know he was ready. The senior cadet dropped his coffee into the room's only trash can and they left together in silence, headed straight for the instructor's wing.

 

 

They were twenty minutes into a review of Keith's last simulator run when he decided he hated this. Getting a little extra alone time with his crush wasn't worth waking up at the asscrack of dawn to have his failures pointed out to him, one by one. Keith slumped forward on the conference room table and slurped loudly from his drink, dragging the straw around the bottom of the cup to get the last of the whipped cream.

Shiro sat across from him with his body turned toward a viewing screen on the far wall. The screen was split in half horizontally, showing yesterday's camera feeds from two different angles inside the simulator pod. Keith cringed every time he glanced over and saw the back of his own head. Shiro hit the pause button on a small remote and hummed thoughtfully. "You flew within range of the enemy planet to avoid the debris field."

"Yeah, so?"

"Why'd you do that?"

Keith pulled the straw halfway out of the cup and watched it drip back down to the bottom. "I don't know, it seemed safer? If I run into an enemy, they shoot me, and I shoot back. I've done it a thousand times. If I'm flying through that," Keith emphasized, pointing at the screen, "I have space junk flying at me from every direction. One hit and I'm out. It's not something I can control."

"So instead of entering an environment that was unfamiliar and unpredictable, you chose certain danger, because the situation was more in your control."

"I guess, yeah."

"Okay." Shiro resumed the video without further comment.

Keith reached across the table and snatched the remote from the older man's hand, hitting the pause button and dropping it onto the table. "What, you're not even gonna tell me how I fucked that one up?"

"Keith, knock it off." Shiro gave him a look that made Keith shrink back into his chair like a scolded dog. "I didn't say anything else because I agreed with you. You have a strong enough success rate in combat encounters to handle a quick detour through enemy territory. I just wanted to hear your reasoning behind it." Shiro pointed at the paused image on the top screen. "Most cadets fly right into a debris field like that and take damage, thinking it's a scripted part of the simulation. But you didn't. You used your head."

Keith stared down at his lap as Shiro went back to watching the recording. "Sure, whatever," he mumbled under his breath, hating himself a little for how turned on he was by Shiro raising his voice at him. He wasn't used to hearing the good things about his piloting, either. The praise made him gooey inside and he went back to fiddling with his empty cup.

Shiro stopped the video again a minute later. "Okay, I think this is where the instructor had a problem. Don't get upset with me, just walk me through it."

Keith sighed heavily and spun his chair towards the screen. "Alright, so if you look at the damage we've taken so far, most of it is along the sides of the ship with the fuel reserves. Right?"

"Right."

"And the rest of the ship is mostly fine. We can still take a good spanking and get to safety."

Shiro's jaw clenched. "Most likely, yes."

"Okay, so the simulation has us on a course that goes right past a group of enemy scouts on the left, and we can't turn around or we'll waste fuel. We're already running out. So our options are to try to drift past them undetected, or fly right through them. They're hanging out right over one of the planet's neutral zones, so if we can make it through, it's a straight shot to the landing site."

Keith stood up and walked over to the screen, pointing at the group of enemy ships. "Here and here we have the best chance of breaking through their formation. They're all scouts, so they're fast, but weak. I ordered Pidge to scramble their comms so they couldn't communicate with each other, transferred power from the stealth generator to deflector shields, and blazed through. Their shots all landed along the nose of the ship. If we hadn't engaged them first, we'd be giving them a first strike advantage if they found us, and then we're basically handing them our fuel."

"And your lives," Shiro added, rising from his chair and standing with Keith at the head of the table.

"Right. We had a chance at floating past them unseen, but it was less of a risk to just, y'know, shoot the shit out of them."

Shiro slapped a hand down on Keith's shoulder and laughed, forcing a grin onto the boy's face. "Nice work. I know why the instructor wrote you up for that, but they're probably just pissed that you broke the garrison's non-engagement policy and still survived the mission. They don't like the idea of their pilots zipping around outer space and picking fights."

"Yeah, I know. But what do they expect me to do? When I do it my way, I win, and I get yelled at. When I do it their way, I fail the mission. So, you know, fuck it."

Shiro's metal grip on Keith's shoulder tightened. "Don't be a brat about it, Keith. That's why I'm here training you. I'll teach you how to do it their way and win. When you're graduated and out there leading pilots in missions on the other side of the galaxy, that's their problem."

Keith nodded and shifted his weight. "You think I'm a good enough pilot?"

Shiro lifted his hand from Keith's shoulder and walked back to his chair, picking up the remote and turning the screen off. "You're not just 'good enough,' you're probably the best in your class. They wouldn't waste their time on you if they thought you weren't. They'd just kick you out." He pulled out his tablet and made note of the time. "Let's go, I'll walk you to your first class."

Keith collected his trash from the table and walked to the door. "You don't have to, I think I'll manage."

Shiro looked a little hurt by that and pressed the door switch. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow." He stopped Keith with a hand on his chest before he left the room. "How tall are you?"

Keith raised an eyebrow. "I'm 5'10". How tall are _you?"_

Shiro frowned. He stared hard at Keith's eyes for a second before dropping his hand and waving him out into the hallway, walking stiffly in the other direction.

"Weirdo," Keith muttered.

 

 

"No. Way. You have to see that guy's face as soon as you wake up now? Five days a week? Does he wake you up slowly with soft kisses or does he just go ahead and rub his morning wood against your butt?"

"Lance, I swear to god, shut the fuck up." Keith had his head tucked down in the cradle of his arms and he thought about kicking Lance's chair out from under him.

"Seriously, though. What do you guys do for a whole hour? Do you help him sort out his vitamins into those plastic pill dividers? Does he quiz you and strip every time you get a question right? Keith, does he..." Lance tipped his chair back and put his face right next to Keith's, his expression deathly serious. "Does he _spank_ you?"

This time Keith really did kick Lance's chair and the instructor stopped his lecture. The two cadets sat straight up in their seats and did their best to look innocent.

"Problem, Kogane?"

"No, sir."

"Did you not just kick the chair of the cadet sitting in front of you?"

"I did, sir."

"Get up and move to the empty desk next to Cadet Gunderson. You can see me after class."

The instructor turned back around and Keith flicked Lance's ear before sitting next to Pidge in the front row. She mouthed "good job" at him and Keith made an ugly face back at her. She smirked and started typing on her tablet. The instructors always used Pidge as an example of how students should behave in their classes, but she was usually just reading comics or sending funny pictures to Hunk. Sure enough, Keith's tablet lit up with a message from her.

 **pgunderson** : what did shiro say about the eval?  
**kkogane** : not much. we were right about the fuel tank. but now he's gonna teach me the ~garrison way~  
**pgunderson** : maybe we should've stopped and asked the enemy ships for directions  
**kkogane** : ikr?? whatever at least it's shiro and not some asshat drill sergeant  
**pgunderson** : you know they have to volunteer for that right?

Keith's breath hitched.

 **kkogane** : what do you mean?  
**pgunderson** : like they don't just assign someone, they let seniors with lighter schedules do it for credit. they can pick who they want to train  
**pgunderson** : so shiro saved you, you should thank him

Shiro was the last person in the garrison who should be adding more onto his plate, and the ace pilot already had more than enough credits to graduate. Why would he volunteer to train with Keith? It didn't make sense.

 **kkogane** : yeah I guess. god this class is killing me  
**pgunderson** : wanna see a video of a guy pulling out a really long ingrown hair with tweezers?  
**kkogane** : pidge what the fuck

 

 

It was dark out by the time Keith's classes were finished for the day. He stripped his jacket off and threw it over the back of his desk chair, resisting the urge to get on his laptop. It was the first time that he didn't feel like logging in to PaladinsLive since finding the site two nights ago, but he knew that he'd end up there anyway if he went online.

Keith noticed the top of Shiro's coffee cup sticking out of his trash can and smiled as the memory of that morning came back to him. The way Shiro's skin turned almost as pink as his facial scar when Keith laughed at him. Leaving the room together just after dawn like couples that spend the whole night together. He knew Shiro would never think of him that way, but Keith's stupid heart never learned how to stop beating harder around him.

He plucked the coffee cup out of the trash and read the side of it. The barista had drawn a little heart and written 'XOXO' under Shiro's name in black sharpie. Of course they wanted to fuck Shiro. Keith dropped it back into the trash and pushed his boot down on it, crushing the cup down to the bottom of the bag.

Maybe getting off with BlackLion wasn't such a bad idea after all. He had a paid subscription, so it would be a waste not to use it, right? He flipped the laptop open and undressed, getting comfy in his chair and wondering if he should set the trash can on fire, too. When he found BlackLion's stream, he was already in the middle of a session, fucking his hips up into a clear FleshJack.

"Your mouth, baby, your fucking mouth... yeah, wanna hear the filthy sounds you make when you're choking on that dick. This thing feels amazing, can't believe I haven't used it before. It's so tight around me, I never wanna stop fucking it. Are you imagining yourself sucking my cock?"

Keith went hot instantly at hearing him talk. He looked at the time and realized that he'd never asked Shiro where they were meeting tomorrow morning. He didn't want to start touching himself and forget about it, so he scooted his chair back and grabbed his tablet, letting the stream play in the background. BlackLion was moaning louder now.

 **kkogane** : hey are you coming to my dorm again tomorrow or do I meet you somewhere else?

A buzzing sounded over the laptop speakers and Keith looked up.

"Sorry guys, hang on, gotta answer this." The man pulled the FleshJack off of himself and set it on his lap while his hand left the frame. "Okay, where were we?"

 **tshiro** : I'll be at your dorm at six. Want coffee or anything?

Keith looked up at the screen, then back down at his tablet. What the fuck? He shot a message back, thinking it was just some freakish coincidence, but his chest was starting to tighten up.

 **kkogane** : i'm fine thanks. i'll be awake this time

The speakers buzzed again and Keith looked on in horror as BlackLion set his toy back down to answer another message.

 **tshiro** : No problem, get a good night's sleep.

Keith went cold. He was shaking like a leaf. He set his tablet down in his lap, too afraid to look back up at his laptop. Keith's mind was racing. He thought about the camera he saw on Shiro's desk. About how he's never seen BlackLion's other arm. About how sometimes, his voice sounds just like another voice Keith's heard before, only grittier. Wet sounds filled the room as Shiro, his friend and longtime crush, poured lube into a FleshJack and lowered it back down onto his cock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MMMM WHATCHA SAYYYY


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter subtitled "keith spends a lot of time on the floor"

Keith had been staring at a smudge on the wall for a good forty minutes when there was a knock on the door.

"Keith? You up?"

"Yeah, come in," he called back from his bed, and he heard the dorm doors slide open. "Hey, Hunk."

"Heeeey. I was just checking if you had any of those gummi bears left, Lance is craving them again." Hunk flicked a light on and his smile instantly fell away. "Dude, what happened?"

Keith didn't answer that or even try to make eye contact. He nodded his head towards the closet, hoping Hunk would just find what he was looking for and leave. "Check the grocery bags behind the door."

Hunk ignored him and dropped down next to Keith on the bed, nudging him gently. "Hey. Can you look at me for a second?"

"Why."

"Because you look and sound like you just got kicked out of the academy or something, dude. You're scaring me."

Keith hugged his knees a little closer to his chest and finally looked up at Hunk, who looked so concerned that Keith almost teared up. "No, no, I'm not going anywhere. It's..." He dropped his forehead against his knees and gave up. "It's a guy."

"A guy? Is someone fucking with you?" Hunk leapt off the bed so fast that Keith bounced on the mattress. "Who is it? Just give me a name, Keith, I swear."

"Hunk, put your fists down, you wouldn't hurt a ladybug."

"I crushed one once by accident. Look, will you just tell me before I have to get Pidge or Shiro?"

Keith's stomach fell at hearing his name. "Dude, stop it. Okay, just, promise not to say anything? To anyone?" The hulking boy sat back down quietly and Keith took that for a yes. "It's... it's him, it's Shiro."

Hunk's face scrunched up in confusion. "Shiro, like, Shiro Shiro? Tall guy with skunk hair Shiro? _Our_ Shiro?"

"Jesus, Hunk, yes, how many guys named Shiro do you know?"

"Just the one, I guess. Wait. Are you guys, like, a thing?" Hunk twisted his middle and index fingers together for emphasis and raised his eyebrows at Keith, who shook his head and took a deep breath.

"No... I don't know. I've liked him for a while but it never bothered me that much. I just accepted that he was out of my league and dealt with it, you know? But then all of this shit started happening and I can't handle it anymore. Like the touching, that whole hand-on-the-shoulder thing he does? I know he's just being friendly but it burns me, man. I feel it for hours. Then he brought me breakfast yesterday and all I could think while I ate it was 'Shiro got this for me, he's feeding me,' like what the fuck _is_ that? I even dream about him sometimes but lately it's been bad, real bad."

Keith paused and rubbed the heels of his palms against his eyelids. "I don't know. If I didn't have this training bullshit I could try to avoid him, but I can't now, I have mandatory Shiro time almost every day. And I don't think I could handle not seeing him, either. Know what I mean? God, I wish I could just delete all of my feelings."

Hunk rested his chin on his fist and nodded slowly. "Mhm. Yeah. Yup, I think I'll just take those gummi bears and head on out." He started to rise from the bed again and Keith yanked him back down by his sleeve.

"Hunk, say something!"

"Relax, I was kidding! You did just unload a lot on me, though. I thought you were gonna run out of breath. You never told Shiro any of this?"

"What, are you crazy?" Keith scoffed. "Look at him, and look at me. I'm not blind."

"You kind of are, dude. I'm not a relationship expert or anything, but I'm good at reading the signs. I'm pretty sure he's got a thing for you."

"No, he doesn't," Keith whispered, but he was secretly hanging on every word Hunk was saying.

"Really? Then why does he always stick closer to you whenever we go out somewhere? If you don't come along with us, he won't even go. He just makes an excuse. But we all see through it." Hunk leaned his weight back on his hands and crossed one leg over the other. "What else, let's see... oh, the shoulder touching? That's just you. I've seen him do it with other people, but with you, it's like his hand is glued there. And when someone makes a joke and we all laugh, he always looks over at you first. That's a thing, you can look it up. And seriously, the one-on-one training sessions? He just signed himself up for five dates with you a week. He's got it bad, dude."

Keith's heart was in overdrive. "He doesn't like me."

"Okay, then explain everything I just told you."

"I don't know! I'm just not good enough for him, okay? He can have anyone he wants, he's perfect."

"Nobody's perfect, Keith, he only is to you. Look, you don't have to make a move on him or anything, but try not to be so hard on yourself." Hunk leaned forward on the bed and squinted over at Keith. "Is that really why you're sitting here all miserable and staring at the wall?"

Keith shifted uncomfortably. "Basically. Something embarrassing happened, I don't really want to talk about it. Thanks, though. For listening."

"Anytime, man. I don't know what could be more embarrassing than having the hots for Shiro, but I feel you." Keith shot him a dirty look and Hunk snickered. "Really, though. It's not good to keep that stuff inside all the time. It'll kill you." He patted Keith on the back and stood up, walking away to rummage through the closet.

Keith fell back on the bed and threw an arm over his eyes. "I can't believe I just told you all that."

"Me neither, it was gross. You've got half a bag of gummi bears in here, I'm taking them as compensation." Hunk shut the closet door and looked back at Keith. "You still look awful, man. Lance and I were gonna do a Disney night, wanna hang?"

"I don't want to move. I'm staying here until I die."

"That's cool, stay there. I'll call Lance over."

Keith rolled onto his side and hugged a pillow to his chest. He knew Hunk would keep his secret, but telling someone about his crush didn't magically fix his problems. He still couldn't tell anyone about BlackLion or the shocking discovery he made tonight, and that was the whole reason for his breakdown in the first place. Shiro would be at his door in less than ten hours.

"Lance? Whoa, buddy, calm down, I wasn't kidnapped. Just grab all the pillows off the bed and come to Keith's room. Yeah. Yeah, he has gummi bears."

 

 

Keith's tablet buzzed under his cheek at quarter to six the next morning. He pawed at the screen to silence the alarm and stretched, yawning and letting his joints pop. The menu music from Lance's Aladdin DVD was still playing quietly on a loop. Keith had fallen asleep in a messy nest of pillows and blankets on the floor after Hunk and Lance called dibs on his bed. He was so glad for the company that he didn't even mind, but their presence didn't stop him from overanalyzing the situation with Shiro late into the night.

Keith had ultimately made three promises to himself. First, he was not going to act any differently around Shiro. Yes, Keith might have seen a lot of his dick and listened to him have intense orgasms, but in Shiro's eyes, nothing had changed between them. Second, Keith was not going to feel guilty for what he had seen. Stumbling upon BlackLion's stream was pure luck, and he had no way of knowing who was behind the camera. Third, and most importantly, Keith was not going to watch BlackLion's stream. Ever again.

He didn't know it yet, but by the end of the day, Keith was going to break all three of his promises.

He was rinsing toothpaste from his mouth when he heard a soft knock on the door and hurried to answer it. Shiro greeted him with a smile and Keith held a finger up to his lips, pointing back to his bed. Shiro peeked over his head at Lance and Hunk tangled together in the sheets, snoring deeply. He gave Keith a silent OK sign with his thumb and index finger and stepped back into the hallway, letting Keith gather his things and follow him out.

"What was that all about?"

"What, Lance and Hunk?" Keith pointedly kept his gaze on the floor as he fell into step with the senior cadet. "We just had a guy's night, watched a few movies."

"Oh, cool. But I mean, are they..." He let himself trail off and glanced at Keith, but Keith didn't finish his sentence for him. There was no way he could handle talk of garrison relationships right now without his face setting on fire. "Nevermind. This way, I got us some time in the sim pod."

Shiro slid a hand against Keith's lower back to steer him to the left and the younger boy tensed up immediately. Shiro pulled his hand away and furrowed his brow.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to- are you injured?"

Keith shook his head. "No, I'm fine, just startled me."

"You look like you're in pain," Shiro insisted. "Have you been sparring? I can take you to the infirmary, it's not far." He let his hands hover just next to Keith's shoulder and elbow as if to lead him, but refrained from touching.

"I said I'm fine, really." Keith folded his arms across his chest and quickened his pace just enough to stay a step ahead of Shiro. He was already halfway hard in his pants. A chorus of _'BlackLion touched me BlackLion touched me'_ rang loud in his ears and Keith thought about diving headfirst into the nearest trash can.

Shiro dropped the subject and let Keith lead the way to the simulator pod. He opened the doors and let Keith enter first, gesturing for him to take a seat at the helm. Before Keith could sit down, the pod doors closed and they were enclosed in total darkness. Keith walked into the back of a chair and yelped.

"Shit, I'm sorry, hang on. First day of flight school is the hardest," Shiro joked. "Don't move, I just need to get to the controls."

Shiro took a step forward in the darkness and stubbed his toe on what sounded like the gearbox. He swore under his breath, turned, and made a full-body collision with Keith's backside.

Keith sucked in a breath and grabbed the back of the chair with both hands. Shiro's hips were slotted snugly against Keith's ass and even though he wasn't hard, Keith could _feel_ him through his uniform. The taller man stuttered out an apology and grabbed onto Keith's shoulders to steady himself, quickly pushing away and fumbling forward through the cockpit.

Keith finally exhaled a trembling breath and fixed his posture. Without meaning to, he had arched his back and pushed his hips out as soon as their bodies came together, and he could only pray Shiro was too embarrassed by the whole thing to notice. There was a 0% chance of hiding the situation in his pants, however. Keith had just presented himself to BlackLion in the confined quarters of the simulator pod. He was hard enough to break bricks.

Shiro felt around in the dark for a keypad and punched his access code in, bringing the screen to life and lighting up the cockpit. "There we go. That's not the first time I've done that, unfortunately. Should've had you hold the door." He brought up a menu of simulation programs and looked over his shoulder at Keith. "You can sit down, I'll have this ready in a second."

Keith took the opportunity to slip into the pilot's seat while Shiro was distracted and buckled the seatbelt across his chest. As always, Shiro was too quick. He turned to ask Keith a question and glanced down at the junior cadet's lap while he adjusted his seatbelt straps. Keith froze. Shiro looked up and met his eyes and they stared at each other for a moment without blinking.

All of the moisture left Keith's mouth. Shiro blinked rapidly and turned away, moving to the other side of the pod and sitting with his back to Keith. "I'm automating comms and engineering systems so you can focus on piloting. The mission should take about thirty minutes, but I'll be pausing the simulation to correct you if you go off the book. On your mark."

Keith heard the click of Shiro's seatbelt and bit down hard on his bottom lip. He took the controls into his hands and leaned back in his seat. "Galaxy Garrison flight log six-eleven-thirteen, begin takeoff procedures for emergency rescue mission." Keith felt the simulator hydraulics rumble to life beneath his feet. He knew he had to focus on his training now, but he was in a daze. He was pretty sure that he had just seen a prominent bulge in Shiro's uniform, too.

 

 

14 Unread Messages

 **itslancebitch** : hello  
**itslancebitch** : its me  
**itslancebitch** : i was wondering if after all these years u'd like to meet  
**itslancebitch** : to go over..........  
**itslancebitch** : evrythiiiiing  
**itslancebitch** : shit what comes next i forget  
**itslancebitch** : r u still being emo  
**itslancebitch** : im here 2 tell u to turn that FROWN  
**itslancebitch** : :(  
**itslancebitch** : upside DOWN  
**itslancebitch** : (:  
**itslancebitch** : we r so gettin drunk tmr do u agree y/n  
**itslancebitch** : KEITH DO U AGREE  
**itslancebitch** : щ(ಥДಥщ)

Pidge crumpled up her PowerBar wrapper and spoke around a mouthful of food. "Your tablet, dude."

"I hear it. It's gotta be Lance." Keith was sprawled out like a starfish on the gym floor, still recovering from a last-minute sparring session with Pidge. He was easily the best at hand-to-hand combat in his class, but Pidge had been training with him for over a year now. She was getting fast and their sessions always wore Keith's lungs out. "Can you push it over here?"

Pidge nudged the tablet over with her foot and Keith scrolled through Lance's messages with a grin. He tapped out his replies with one finger.

 **kkogane** : jfc yes I agree  
**kkogane** : if I can move. pidge learned new pressure point today  
**itslancebitch** : omfg r u guys sparring again  
**itslancebitch** : protect ur balls shes like an angry lil bumblebee bZzzzt

Keith laughed out loud and Pidge crawled next to him to read over his shoulder. She typed a quick reply before Keith could hide the tablet from her and slid back to her spot against the wall. "Do you want to invite Shiro out with us tomorrow or should I?"

A long silence followed and Pidge snapped her fingers, thinking Keith had drifted off to sleep. He wriggled his body around to face her. "I don't know. Do we have to invite him this time?"

"What do you mean? We always invite him." Pidge cocked her head to the side and squinted at Keith. "Is there... something I should know about?"

"No, I'm just asking." Keith scrambled to come up with a reason that wouldn't lead to more questions. The whole point of asking Pidge to spar with him was to de-stress after his freak accident training session this morning. "I've just been spending so much time around him with the whole training thing, you know? A little Shiro goes a long way."

Pidge cracked up at that and stood up, offering a hand to help Keith off the floor. "Okay, I won't invite him. But if he asks what our plans are, I'm not gonna lie to him, and you'll have to suck it up."

"Deal. Thanks, Pidge." Keith brushed his clothes off and picked up his tablet, reading what she had sent to Lance.

 **kkogane** : your balls are next buttercup  
**itslancebitch** : buttercup ??  
**itslancebitch** : babe u cant just say things like that in public i got a reputation  
**itslancebitch** : .. pidge ur gonna catch these hands

 

 

The bathroom filled with steam as Keith stripped his uniform off, groaning every time he lifted his arms. Today was a mess from the start. He was so rattled by what happened in the sim pod that he failed the simulation twice and Shiro had to end their session early, telling Keith to get more rest. It was humiliating. Keith was a fighter pilot with extraordinary talent and his infatuation had rendered him completely useless at the helm.

The shower was on full blast and felt like heaven on earth when he stepped into the stall. Keith lolled his head forward and let the hot water beat against his sore shoulders, reaching down absently to pull at his cock. He was only looking for a quick release before bed, but when his mind turned to thoughts of Shiro again, his intentions changed.

Keith rested his forehead against the tiled wall and looked down through his dripping bangs at his erection. He thought about how he had sprung a boner right in front of Shiro that morning and how it felt when his eyes landed on it, like the guy could see right through his uniform. Keith wasn't nearly as long as him, but he was thick, and he knew Shiro had gotten an eyeful.

That was nothing compared to the fact that Shiro himself had gotten hard after walking right into Keith's ass a minute before that. Even when he was soft, Keith could feel how big and warm he was through layers of clothing. Just thinking about it was making his mouth water now. He wondered briefly why he hadn't pulled his pants down and begged for the man to fuck him right there in the dark.

Keith moaned helplessly and stroked himself under the water, imagining Shiro taking him for the first time. Would he be slow and careful with him, whispering gentle words while they explored each other? Or would he be filthy, rough and unable to control himself like BlackLion? Keith shut his eyes tight and tried to reconcile the two images in his head. He had to keep reminding himself that there was no second person, that the things BlackLion did on the stream were really all Shiro.

He was getting closer to coming and growing agitated, needing more, his own imagination failing to get him off. The promise he made to never watch PaladinsLive again seemed rash and poorly made now. He let go of his erection and leaned out of the shower stall, grabbing his tablet off the bathroom counter. He hoped the thing really was waterproof as he mounted it on the wall, away from the steady stream of water.

Soon he was loading BlackLion's live feed, leaning one forearm against the wall to support himself. When Shiro's voice started playing through the speakers, Keith's gut turned. He muted the volume quickly. If he couldn't hear his voice, it seemed less real. He didn't want to go back to reality right now. He just wanted a visual for the Shiro in his head, a Shiro that wanted him, too.

The stream must have been live for a while already. Shiro wasn't doing anything unusual, just showing off his cock for the camera, but his skin was sweatier and more flushed than Keith had ever seen it. He was sitting on an angle with a hand tucked under his thighs, out of view. Keith quivered a little at the idea of Shiro fingering himself open. Then Shiro shifted, spreading his legs and draping them over the arms of his chair, and Keith almost fainted.

There, on Keith's screen, was a perfect view of ace pilot Shiro holding a black-and-white prostate massager in his ass. The toy's flared base was being pushed as far as it would go against his body and vibrating so hard that Keith could see Shiro's hand shaking. He couldn't hear it, but he was sure the man was wailing loud with how much his spread thighs were trembling. Keith had never dared to even imagine Shiro in a position like this and it was happening right now, right here in the garrison.

The cloying heat in the shower was making it harder to breathe and Keith was panting like he was running a marathon. He tugged himself faster under the water, matching his pace with Shiro, who was fucking himself on the vibrator like it was someone's cock. Keith pictured himself doing things to Shiro he never had before. Shiro holding his legs open wide and letting Keith lick him, tasting the most secret part of him, the noises he would make when Keith was rutting balls deep inside of him.

The Shiro behind the camera hit a button on the base of the massager and his body seized, his ass clenching and lifting off the chair as the vibrations grew stronger. Keith started babbling encouragements to him through the screen, wishing he could be there to hold him and talk him through it. He realized that Shiro couldn't even touch his cock without letting go of the vibrator or showing his other arm, and that's when the camboy came, his dick spurting untouched as he shook violently in his chair.

"Oh, _shit,_ you just, Shiro, Shiro, Shiro..." Keith ripped the tablet off of its mount and held it just below his waist, jerking himself hard and fast, feeling his orgasm building. He watched Shiro's trembling subside as he switched the vibrator off and pulled it out of himself, his hole stretching around its curved girth. He set the toy out of view and scooted his body closer to the camera. Shiro reached down and gripped an asscheek with one hand, spreading himself wide open. Keith fell to his knees in the shower, the tablet still held tightly in his hand, and tugged on his cock until he came all over the image of Shiro's winking asshole.

Keith stayed down on his knees with his eyes closed long after he had finished. He didn't want to open them and face the reality of what he had just done. Instead, Keith concentrated on the water running over his back, wishing tomorrow would come sooner so he could drink and forget this. He was so, _so_ screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you got a warranty for that ya little nasty


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bigger chapter for bigger disasters. warning for keith in a ponytail

The next day passed, miraculously, without much incident. It was finally Friday and Keith was at his wit's end, paying the bare minimum amount of attention in his classes. Apparently he wasn't the only one who was worn out. Shiro had texted him just after the stream the night before, suggesting that they cancel the last training session of the week and pick it up again on Monday. Keith almost kissed him through the tablet for that before remembering how he dirtied it in the shower. He had to make some pretty disgraceful internet searches to figure out how to clean and sanitize the screen.

Keith succumbed to a quick nap before dinner and woke up to his tablet practically buzzing off the nightstand. He propped himself up on one arm, black hair matted to the side of his face, and peered at the screen. Pidge had organized a group chat to make sure their plans for the night were still in place, but there were too many messages to backtrack.

 **kkogane** : just woke up when are we leaving  
**pgunderson** : it's alive!  
**itslancebitch** : scroll up dude cant u read  
**itslancebitch** : DONT HELP HIM  
**pgunderson** : 2200, meet at my room and we'll head to quarks  
**itslancebitch** : ughhhhh  
**kkogane** : thanks I'll be there  
**hgarett** : lance drew a dick in ASCII earlier in the chat  
**pgunderson** : lololol  
**itslancebitch** : yea u all ruined it  
**kkogane** : ok... going now  
**itslancebitch** : omg keith hdu  
**itslancebitch** : GO LOOK AT MY ART

Keith got up and started digging through his closet for something to wear. He had spent enough time moping this week and wanted to look his best tonight. He wasn't interested in hooking up with anyone at the bar, especially not since the BlackLion debacle, but he still wanted the confidence boost.

Nearly every piece of clothing Keith owned ended up draped over his chair or his bed. Nothing looked right. He stared at the remnants of his wardrobe with his hands on his hips, completely at a loss. He needed help.

 **kkogane** : [Multimedia Message, 664kb]  
**hgarett** : is that your room?? what happened  
**kkogane** : idk what to wear tonight  
**hgarett** : lol jeez  
**hgarett** : we're just going to quarks wear whatever  
**kkogane** : but I want to look good  
**hgarett** : I thought pidge said shiro wasn't coming

Keith turned red at that. He still wasn't used to someone else knowing about his crush.

 **kkogane** : he isn't. but you know the week i've had  
**hgarett** : yeah I feel that  
**hgarett** : just wear that one vneck, lance always says it makes him want to lick you  
**hgarett** : pls don't tell him I said that  
**kkogane** : omfg bye

He set his tablet back down and looked around the room. All of this just to end up wearing a t-shirt. Keith finally got dressed in the black v-neck and a snug pair of grey jeans and strolled into the bathroom, leaning over the sink to inspect his face in the mirror. He pulled his hair back into a short ponytail, spritzed cologne on his collarbone, and hung a simple cord necklace with a circular silver pendant around his neck. Keith smiled at his reflection. He felt good tonight.

 

 

"Alright, first round, grab your glasses before I drop 'em." Lance appeared at the high top table juggling five blue kamikaze shots in his hands. Everyone took a glass until Lance was left holding two, and he placed the extra shot in front of Keith with a smirk. "This one's for surviving your first week of Shiro hell."

Keith stifled a laugh and nodded. "Yeah, thanks, bud." They all clinked glasses and Keith swallowed his drink, slamming it back down on the tabletop before the others had even started drinking. A strange popping sensation spread across his tongue and Keith grimaced. "Is anyone else, uh, crackling?"

Lance licked the rim of his glass sloppily and beamed. He pointed at Keith's second shot, which was rimmed with coarse red crystals. "Pop Rocks! Don't tell me you've never had them before."

Pidge gasped, her eyes huge and almost cross-eyed with how hard she was staring at the remaining crystals on her glass. "There must be pockets of pressurized gas trapped in the candy, but how do they do it? Can we try dumping them in something carbonated?" Pidge hopped down from her chair and scurried towards the bar.

Hunk shook his head as Pidge disappeared into the crowd of patrons. "We're not gonna see her again for a while."

Keith drank his second shot and stacked his empty glasses together. "Guess I'll get the next round then."

"No, you stay there. It's on me," Lance insisted. Keith and Hunk shared a look. "What? I pay for stuff all the time," Lance said.

Hunk guffawed at that and Lance punched him in the arm ineffectually, then rubbed the spot with his hand as if to soothe it. Lance fell silent and directed his gaze down at the table for a moment before collecting the empty glasses and heading back to the bar.

Keith leaned across the table towards Hunk, who was tracking Lance's progress through the crowd. "Did he just rub you?"

"Yup. Definitely did." Hunk turned back towards Keith and drummed his fingers on the table. The music grew louder as the bar got busier and they sat without speaking for a minute, just absorbing the atmosphere. Finally Hunk spoke, yelling over the bass pumping from the speakers. "So how're things on the Shiro front?"

"Hunk, _shh!_ Careful!" Keith blushed and glanced around quickly to make sure no one was listening.

"Relax, bro. He's not Voldemort. Anyway, one of my instructors told us that the next rounds of evaluations are starting soon. You won't have to deal with any more of those 'training sessions,'" Hunk said, making air quotes with his fingers.

Keith nodded and played with his necklace, staring out over the railing at the street below. "Cool, thanks. Can't wait for them to make an example out of me again."

"Yeah, you look real thrilled." Hunk reached over and patted Keith's shoulder. "C'mon, Keith, you're a natural. And Shiro won't let you fail."

"Am I interrupting something?" Lance asked, returning from the bar with a tray of highball glasses. "Long Islands, boys, it's about to get real."

Keith took a glass and sucked through the thin straw until he had drained half of it in one go. He was starting to feel light and loose, like the alcohol was washing away all of the stress that had built up over the last few days. He wondered if Shiro was on camboy duty tonight, but quickly put it out of his mind. Keith didn't want to know. Meanwhile, on the street below, a man with a shock of white hair was pulling out his ID and lining up to enter the bar.

 

 

"On the count of three. One, two... three!"

Hunk lifted the balloon up, pouring the Pop Rocks inside down into the bottle of Coke. Everyone leaned back in their chairs as if expecting an explosion, but the Coke simply fizzed up a little while the balloon expanded.

"That was it? Pidge, you said it was gonna go _whoosh!"_

"I didn't know what was gonna happen, that's why it's called an experiment!"

Lance yanked the balloon off of the top of the bottle and flung it at Pidge, who ducked and let it go right over her head into a stranger's drink. Lance slid under the table to avoid being seen. A minute later, he started tying everyone's shoelaces together. Hunk was too busy working on a pitcher of Coors to notice, but Keith did, and he kicked hard until Lance squawked and reappeared.

"That was my ass!" Lance cried. He lurched across the table towards Keith, knocking the Coke on the floor in the process, and Keith made a drunken dash for the bar. He leaned his upper body against the counter heavily and tried to flag down a bartender while he caught his breath.

"What're you drinking tonight, hon?"

Keith looked to his right and found a well-groomed guy in his early thirties standing next to him, grinning down at the boy like he was dinner. The man slid closer until he was pressed against Keith's side. Normally, Keith would never have let a stranger get this close to him, but right now he was wasted and loving the attention. He let his gaze roam over the older man's body and gave him a coy shrug.

"Dunno, what're you buying me?"

The man slid an arm around Keith's back and pulled him closer. The heat radiating off of him was driving Keith crazy, and when a shot of whisky appeared in front of him, he let the man tip it back into his open mouth. Keith made a face at the flavor and stuck his tongue out. "Fireball? Really?"

"What, not classy enough for you? Sorry, baby." The man laughed and dropped his hand lower, groping Keith through the back of his jeans. "God, damn. You're real fucking sexy, you know that?"

Keith closed his eyes and let his body go limp, reveling in the feeling of having another man's body so close to his. A voice in the back of his head told him to push the stranger away, but Keith didn't want to be alone again just yet. The man squeezed his ass and leaned his face down next to Keith's ear, and a second later, Keith fell against the bar as the man was torn away from him.

"Hey, hey- watch it, asshole! What the fuck?" The man was being held up by the scruff of his shirt by none other than Takashi Shirogane. Where the hell did he even come from? Keith put a hand on Shiro's arm to stop him, but he was ignored. He had never seen the senior cadet lose his cool like this.

Shiro slammed the man's back against the edge of the bar and he yowled in pain, falling onto a stool and recoiling in fear. The bartender shouted a warning and Shiro backed up a step, holding up his palms defensively. The stranger tried to slink away towards the exit, but Shiro grabbed him again and jabbed a finger in his face.

"Think you're real smooth, huh? The kid can barely stand up straight." Shiro let go of the guy's shirt and shoved him hard, sending him stumbling towards the stairs. "If I see you around him again, you're _done,_ understand me?" He shouted, glaring until the man had finally retreated down the stairwell.

Shiro turned towards Keith and his expression quickly melted from one of anger to concern. He gave him a once-over and started to reach towards his face, but Keith swatted his hand away.

"What the hell was that for?" Keith hollered.

Shiro's eyebrows shot up and he pointed a finger at himself. "Me? You're mad at _me?_ Keith, that guy practically had his hand down your pants."

Keith folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah, so?"

"So?!" Shiro sputtered and glanced around the bar as if looking for backup. Keith figured he must have come with some of the other senior cadets tonight. He was wearing jeans and a dark henley that fit tightly across his chest and shoulders, and Keith would've drooled over it if he weren't so pissed. "Look at you, you're slurring and swaying on your feet right now, you're hammered. You were being taken advantage of."

"Maybe I wanna be taken advantage of, ever think of that?" Keith shoved his way past him and dropped onto a stool, feeling very much like he had just won that argument.

Shiro sat next to him and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Look, if you're going to be mad at me for getting rid of that guy, then fine. Be mad all you want. But I'm not going to let you make a huge mistake with some creep because you're too drunk to think for yourself."

Keith snorted and leaned back on his stool. "Ooh, I'm so scared. Did I make the lion angry?" He made a claw with his hand and scratched his nails down Shiro's sleeve. "Raaawr."

Shiro's brow furrowed. "Okay, you need some water."

"What, like you don't know?" Keith slipped a finger through his necklace and pulled the cord around his neck, smirking and looking up at Shiro through dark eyelashes. "Thought you said I was your type."

Keith watched as Shiro's face started to go pale. "What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?" Keith stood up and leaned his back against the bar, reaching up to toy with his ponytail. "Five-ten, violet eyes, longish black hair? You asked me if I was a virgin and told me to come on my face. Remember?"

Shiro stood so fast his stool almost toppled to the ground. Keith started laughing and Shiro took his wrist, leading him to an empty corner of the bar. He let go of the younger boy and pressed a hand against his own forehead, looking paler by the second. "Keith, what do you know?"

Keith leaned against a steel column and grinned from ear to ear. "I know what your cock looks like."

Shiro huffed and pulled a chair over, sitting down in front of Keith and putting his face in his hands. "Okay. Stupid question. God, I really need you to not be drunk right now."

"Why?"

Shiro pushed a hand through his hair and looked up at Keith, who was swaying to the music happily. "Why? Because you've watched me do god knows what on my webcam and now you're talking about it in public. This isn't a joke."

Keith's smile faded a little at that. "Oh, so now you're mad at me."

"No, I just want you to understand how serious this is," Shiro said. "How long have you been watching? And how long have you known it was me?"

Keith rolled his eyes and spun around, wrapping his arms around the column. "Oh my _god,_ why didn't you just let me go home with that guy."

"What, you really wanted to?" Shiro asked, also starting to sound agitated. "He was a sicko, Keith, he only made a move on you because you're wasted."

"Because I can't get a guy any other way, right? I'm just stuck jerking off to BlackLion forever?"

Shiro flinched at the name. "Don't say that here."

Keith turned and stared into Shiro's eyes. "Blaaaack. Liiii. Oooon."

Shiro stood up and moved into Keith's space. "Alright, I'm not playing this game with you. Where are Pidge and the guys? They're here with you, right?"

Keith gave an exaggerated shrug and gestured around the bar. "Dunno. We had a high top. Why?"

"Just stay here." Shiro took Keith's shoulders and sat him down on the chair. "Sit here, don't talk to anyone, and wait for me to come back. Okay?"

Keith grinned wickedly. He grabbed the hem of Shiro's shirt and pulled him closer, whispering, "Is this a _sexy_ game?"

Shiro tugged his shirt out of his hands and pointed a finger at him. "Sit."

Keith wiggled in his seat as he watched him leave. He felt invincible tonight. Now that Shiro knew about Keith watching his stream, they could just skip all the bullshit and hook up like they were always meant to. Where'd he go, anyway? Maybe to bring back more drinks. Keith still had the taste of cinnamon in his mouth from the Fireball.

Shiro finally appeared again a minute later. He headed straight for Keith, and without saying anything, scooped the boy out of his chair and lifted him over his shoulder. Keith squeaked and kicked his legs in the air. "What are you doing?!"

"I told your friends that I'm taking you back to the garrison because you've had too much. They all thought that was a good idea and said to tell you goodbye. Ready?"

"A good idea? No! I'm not going anywhere, take me to the traitors!" Keith pounded his fists weakly against Shiro's back.

"Yeah, you're ready." Shiro carried him effortlessly through the bar, down the stairs, and out onto the street. He whistled for a cab while Keith continued to protest from his perch on Shiro's shoulder. He couldn't appreciate it now, but tomorrow morning, Keith would look back and think about how nice it felt not to leave the bar alone.

 

 

Shiro hit Keith's door switch with his elbow and carried the boy inside, walking straight into the bathroom and kicking the toilet lid closed. "Alright, down you go," Shiro said, depositing Keith onto the toilet and looking around the bathroom. "What do you have for water?"

Keith lolled his head back against the wall and flung his arm back out towards his bedroom. "Closet. Bottles."

Shiro left and Keith heard him poking around the closet a moment later. He was starting to sober up a little, but Keith still couldn't get a clear picture of how exactly Shiro had ended up in his dorm with him. He shifted on the toilet lid and pulled his tablet out, wondering what his friends were doing.

5 Unread Messages

 **pgunderson** : before you say anything I DEF DID NOT invite shiro here tonight!!  
**itslancebitch** : I CAN BE UR SHIRO BABY  
**itslancebitch** : I CAN KISS AWAY THE PAIN~  
**itslancebitch** : I WILL STAND BY U 4EVER  
**hgarett** : hey man are you ok? lmk when you get this

Keith's face broke out in a dopey smile. He tapped a quick reply to Hunk before Shiro came back holding a bottle of water.

"Here, drink this. The whole thing." He started to hand the bottle to Keith, but pulled it away a second later. "Don't ever let a guy give you an open bottle, okay? Always open them yourself."

Keith groaned and snatched the bottle. "Okay, dad." He twisted the cap off and started to drink, but he was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?"

Keith nodded and slumped forward. Shiro caught him and quickly figured out what was happening, turning Keith's body around and throwing the toilet seat up. The boy hugged his arms around the toilet and started retching. Shiro rubbed his back the whole way through, tucking a loose lock of hair behind Keith's ear and flushing the toilet when he was finished.

"There, now. All done. Do you feel better?"

Keith turned his head back, still hugging the rim of the toilet. He had tears in his eyes and his nose was starting to run. "A little. I threw up."

Shiro chuckled and ripped off a length of toilet paper, handing it to Keith so he could wipe his nose. "Yeah, bud, you did. C'mon, we have to get the rest of that water in you." He wrapped his arms around Keith's middle and helped him off the floor, propping him up against the sink and waggling the bottle of water in front of his face.

Keith emptied the bottle and dropped it on the floor, watching it roll into the open shower. He turned around and started pawing through the medicine cabinet, taking a swig from a bottle of mouthwash and gargling it. He could see Shiro's reflection in the mirror, standing behind him and watching the boy closely.

"Can I help you?" Keith asked.

Shiro wiped a hand across his face. "We still need to talk."

Keith swallowed. Oh, right. That. "Can we just forget about that? I was really, really drunk."

"No, we can't forget about it. You never answered my questions at the bar." Shiro cleared his throat and looked down at the floor. "How long have you known?"

"What, that you're basically an amateur porn star?" Keith watched in the mirror as Shiro's face turned a soft pink. "I dunno. Not long. A few days, maybe."

Shiro looked up and met Keith's eyes in the mirror. "That's it?"

Keith frowned. "Yeah, why? How long have you been doing it?"

"I don't know. A year or two. I thought... I didn't know this was that recent." Shiro bit his bottom lip into his mouth. "What was, uh. What was the first show you saw?"

"Um. You were just jerking off, I don't know. The night we all met at Quarks. It wasn't anything special." Keith almost corrected himself. Of course it was fucking special, he thought. Every time he watched BlackLion his whole world changed.

"Oh, okay. I remember that. And you said at the bar... oh." Shiro put the toilet lid back down and sat on it, resting his elbows on his knees. "You were the one in that private chat."

Keith scoffed. "I'm sure there've been a thousand private chats, but yeah. That was me. Nice to meet you."

Shiro didn't laugh at that. He looked deep in thought, his face schooled in a grave expression. Keith didn't say anything. He tried to remember what happened in the private session, but the details were fuzzy, blurred by time and the alcohol. He wished he knew what Shiro was thinking right now.

Finally, Shiro broke the silence. "I said your name that night."

"Huh?"

"In the stream. When I came, I called your name out. I didn't mean to, I didn't even know it was you. The session ended so fast I didn't know if you heard it, but. I said your name."

Keith's legs started shaking a little and he leaned his weight against the counter. "Okay."

Shiro gave him a quizzical look. "Okay? Did you hear what I just said?"

"Yeah, you said my name, so what? You said a lot of stuff. It's for the show, doesn't make it real."

"Keith, I told you I didn't know it was you. Why would I just call your name out when I think I'm talking to a stranger?"

"Because you're a pervert?"

Shiro took a deep breath. "Alright, nevermind. When did you figure out it was me? Did you know then?"

Keith pulled on his necklace and stared down at his shoes. "No. Not yet. I messaged you and I saw you answer it on the stream."

"Oh, wow," Shiro chuckled. "Of all the ways to get caught. And that was the last show you saw?"

Keith went quiet. He gripped the counter behind him tighter and dragged his toe around in a circle.

"Keith, look at me."

"No."

Shiro stood and put his hand on Keith's shoulder. "Hey."

Keith inhaled deeply through his nose and looked up.

Shiro looked back and forth between his eyes. "Did you watch the stream again after you knew it was me?"

Keith blinked and looked down again. He nodded.

"Was it just to watch, or did you jerk off?"

Keith nodded again. He wasn't capable of speaking right now. Whatever power the alcohol had given him over Shiro was gone now, and Keith was left alone with his shaking limbs and a racing heart. He imagined the floor opening up under him and mercifully swallowing him whole.

Shiro stepped closer until their shoes were touching and lifted Keith's chin up with a finger. "What are you thinking right now?"

Keith blinked faster and looked up at Shiro with pleading eyes. "I don't know. I'm scared."

"Scared of what? Of me?"

"Of what you're thinking."

Shiro's lips quirked in a smile. "Do you wanna know what I'm thinking?"

Keith did, but he couldn't get the words out. He was hard as a rock and dizzy on his feet. Shiro moved even closer until their bodies were pressed together, and Keith whimpered when he felt the other man's erection nudging just below his belly button. Shiro pulled the collar of Keith's shirt aside slowly with a metal finger, exposing more of his bare shoulder. Keith held his breath as Shiro closed his eyes and lowered his head, attaching his open mouth to the base of Keith's neck.

"Oh _fuck,_ fuck-" Keith scrambled to hold onto Shiro's shoulders as the man sucked wetly at his skin, wrapping an arm around Keith's back and holding him even tighter against his front. Keith was mewling in Shiro's ear and grinding his crotch against him hurriedly. Shiro stopped sucking just long enough to lick a long stripe along Keith's neck and moan brokenly, breathing hot against his skin.

Keith was trying to climb his body now, wrapping a leg around his waist and whining when he couldn't find leverage. Shiro growled and swooped his mouth back down against Keith's neck. He was sucking hard enough to bruise and Keith almost came in his pants when he thought about the man leaving marks on his body. Keith grasped the back of Shiro's head, pulling him down harder, silently begging.

Shiro lifted his head up and looked at Keith. His lips were wet and messy with saliva and his pupils were blown wide, staring hard at the boy trembling in his arms. He suddenly pulled Keith's hands off of him and backed away until they were no longer touching.

"What?" Keith asked, reaching up to feel the fresh mark on his neck.

"Keith... shit. I'm so sorry. Does it hurt?"

Keith laughed breathlessly. "A little, isn't that the point? I liked it," Keith said, waiting for the man to come closer again.

Shiro shook his head and gripped a handful of white hair. "I shouldn't have done that. This is still wrong, we still need to talk."

"Wrong? Why is it wrong?" Keith wrapped his arms around himself, starting to feel queasy again. He didn't think it was the liquor this time.

"No, that's not what I meant, I'm saying... you fell for BlackLion, not me." Shiro gestured at the space between them. "We're not at this point yet. I can't just come in here and jump into bed with you because you liked what we did on the stream."

"I liked what you just did to my neck, too," Keith mumbled. He didn't see what the problem was. So what if BlackLion helped them figure out their feelings for each other? What mattered was that they were both here now, in his dorm, and they were both hard in their pants. It was a pretty simple equation.

"I did too, Keith. But I'm not like that guy at the bar, I don't just want to get off with you. Do you get what I'm saying?" Shiro looked defeated, like he was trying to make Keith understand a different language. "There's BlackLion, and then there's me. I said things to you as BlackLion that I wasn't ready for you to hear yet. I want you to want this because of me, not because of him."

Keith looked at Shiro like he had just spoken the dumbest words Keith had ever heard. "Shiro, you _are_ him."

"I know, just, damnit," Shiro swore, dropping his hands to his sides. "I don't want you to watch the stream anymore. Okay? That's not for you."

"What, so everyone else gets to watch you but I can't? What the fuck is that?" Keith raised his voice and felt his heart beating faster. "You were just pushing your hard-on against me a second ago and now I'm not even allowed to see what you show to strangers every day?"

"That's not the point, Keith, you're not listening to me."

"No, I'm listening, you're just not making any fucking sense." Keith pulled the elastic off of his ponytail and threw it against the wall behind the sink, letting his hair fall against his neck. "Fine. I won't watch you. And you don't get to think about me anymore when you jerk off. Deal?"

Shiro didn't have a response for that. Keith laughed mirthlessly and rolled his eyes. He grabbed the hem of his v-neck and tugged it over his head, walking shirtless out of the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" Shiro called after him. He followed Keith back into his bedroom, looking like he was trying hard not to let his gaze roam over the boy's body.

"It's late. I'm going to bed. You know, like normal people do? We don't all have an audience to get naked for." Keith started unzipping his jeans and raised an eyebrow at Shiro. "Well?"

"Yeah, I'm going." Shiro turned and walked to the door, slamming his palm against the switch. The door hissed open and Shiro just stood there, facing out into the hallway. "Have a nice night." He walked out and the doors closed a moment later, leaving Keith standing with his hands on his zipper.

"Asshole," Keith muttered, instantly feeling sorry for it. He had wanted Shiro for so long and as soon as he finally had him, he lost him again. He stepped out of his jeans and cleared his bed off, throwing all of the rejected outfits onto the floor. Keith flopped down on his stomach and pushed his face into a pillow, trying to hang on to the feeling of being wrapped in Shiro's arms, right where he belonged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol @ keith barfing and shiro not kissing him on the mouth after


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello and welcome to whose fic is it anyway where the update schedule's made up and the word count doesn't matter

Bran muffins, oatmeal, and fruit. Keith's stomach grumbled as he filled up his tray. Why couldn't the garrison have mercy on Saturday mornings and serve something greasy for once? He'd kill for hash browns right now.

Keith scanned the cafeteria and saw Lance's hand shoot up, waving a banana at Keith. He shuffled over to the table and set his tray down with a clatter. Pidge flinched hard and shut her eyes at the noise.

"That bad, huh?"

"Dude, she went hard last night. I couldn't even keep up. She says it's your fault for leaving."

Keith sunk his teeth into an apple and pointed at himself, looking confused. Pidge nodded, her eyes still closed, and moved her hands up and down as if weighing something in them.

"Yeah. You're, like, the _balance,_ dude," Lance said, interpreting for Pidge. "Hunk's too nice to tell us when to stop and I'm even crazier than she is. We need you there as, like, the voice of reason."

Pidge pushed a fist towards Lance and he bumped his own fist against it gently, ruffling her hair as she slowly opened her eyes again. Lance started peeling his banana from the bottom and nudged his shoe against Keith's leg.

"What happened with you last night, anyway? You did look a little trashed, but Shiro just showed up out of nowhere and acted like there was some big emergency."

Keith twirled the stem of his apple until it fell off and landed in his oatmeal. "He was just being dramatic. I did get pretty sick, though."

"Yeah? Did he hold your hair for you and rub your back while you hurled?" Lance batted his eyelashes and Keith picked at the skin of his apple quietly. Lance's teasing was usually way off base, but this time, he was exactly right. Keith tried to change the subject, but was interrupted. "Speak of the devil, here comes Mr. Hall Monitor now."

Keith didn't look up. The queasiness from last night returned full force as Shiro swung a leg over the bench and sat right next to him, setting his tray down quietly.

"Hey, guys."

Lance took a bite of his banana and nodded. "Morning. Easy on the volume, Pidge is dying." Pidge gave a tiny wave and Shiro sighed in sympathy.

"I hear you. Don't think I managed to sleep at all last night."

"How come?" Keith asked, finally acknowledging Shiro's presence at the table.

"I think we all know the answer to that," Lance said, smirking and shoving the last half of the banana in his mouth.

Shiro gave him a funny look and answered Keith. "Just had a lot to think about."

Keith looked down at his apple and set it back on his tray. He had shredded most of the skin off with his fingernails. Keith hadn't been able to sleep either, but he didn't want to admit that. He was still upset about what happened after the bar. Keith had spent so long thinking about it after Shiro left that he couldn't tell who he was actually mad at anymore.

Lance threw his banana peel onto Shiro's tray and cleared his throat. "So, since Hunk isn't here, I wanted to ask you guys something."

Everyone looked up at Lance, who suddenly looked anxious. Nobody spoke. Keith eventually knocked on the table to get his attention. "Earth to Lance."

"I know, shut up, give me a second." Lance huffed out a breath. "Nevermind. Forget I said anything."

Pidge picked up her plastic spork and poked Lance in the cheek with it. He smacked it away, but then Keith did the same, until even Shiro was reaching over and trying to prod Lance into speaking. He started laughing and swatted his hands around his face in a flurry.

"Okay, okay, quit it! Jesus, you guys are the worst. It's not that big a deal anyway." Lance exhaled and stared intently at his oatmeal. "I was thinking of asking out Hunk."

Pidge squeaked happily and clamped her hands over her mouth. Shiro and Keith both looked up at the same time, Keith with a big grin on his face.

"About time!" He leaned over the table and slapped Lance on the shoulder. "Seriously, man. You guys done having cuddle parties in my bed now?"

Lance smirked and winked at Keith. "No, that's where we're having the honeymoon."

"Are you sure that's a good idea while you're both still cadets?"

Keith's smile fell away and he turned his body towards Shiro. "What's your problem?"

Shiro mirrored his body language and turned towards Keith on the bench. "I'm just saying, it's against the rules and it distracts from your training. It's irresponsible." Shiro glanced over at Lance. "No offense."

"Oh, none taken, pal."

Keith was fuming now. "Really? You're gonna do this now? How would you feel if you confessed your feelings for someone and you get a response like that?"

"What should I have said, then? I'm trying to be the responsible one, here."

"You shouldn't have said anything. We're not all heartless like you."

"Exercising caution doesn't make me heartless. There's a time and a place, it just isn't here."

"Then where? Is there a subscription for that, too?"

"Uh, guys?" Lance leaned forward and waved a hand in front of their faces. "Still here."

"Not everything has a shortcut, Keith, sometimes you just need to be patient. And maybe recognize that you're not the only one with feelings."

"Feelings, right. Because when you have feelings for someone, you should give them one of _these_ and then tell them that it was a mistake," Keith said, tugging on his collar and exposing the hickey on his neck.

Pidge sprayed apple juice all over her tray. Lance looked on in shock, his spork held frozen in mid-air.

Shiro said nothing. He let his gaze fall on Keith's neck for a moment before locking eyes with him, his jaw clenching. Keith picked up his tray and stormed away from the table, dumping his half-eaten breakfast in the trash and heading out into the hallway. Lance caught up with him and grabbed his arm, moving in front of him to block him.

"Dude, wait up. What the hell is going on?"

Keith sighed and led Lance to a quiet alcove off of the main hallway. He felt his tablet hum in his pocket and ignored it. "Can you believe that asshole? He doesn't think about anyone but himself. God, I'm sorry, I'm such a mess right now."

"It's cool, my whole life is a mess. You wanna talk about it?"

Keith shook his head, feeling embarrassed as the anger slowly lost its hold on him. "Not really. Thanks, though."

"No problem. Just say the word. There's still my thing, by the way."

Oh, shit. Keith snapped his head up. "You and Hunk!"

Lance shushed him, but he was smiling. "Yeah. You kinda left me hanging back there."

"Lance, I'm such a dick, I'm sorry. That's great. When did this happen?"

"I don't really know. After the bar, I guess? He walked me to my dorm and said goodnight, and for some reason I, like, stood on my tiptoes." Lance blushed. "Like I was waiting for him to kiss me."

"Oh my god," Keith laughed. "You are so red right now."

"Shut up! I've wanted to for a while, I just never... you know. I didn't want to make things weird if he didn't like me back."

Lance looked away. Keith still felt like the world's worst friend for ditching him at the table. He reached out and pulled Lance against his side in a one-armed hug, jostling him out of his trance.

"Hey. Everything Shiro said back there was bullshit, okay? Cadets date each other all the time. And you're crazy for thinking Hunk wouldn't like you, man. Every other word out of his mouth is your name."

Lance frowned. "Yeah, because I never leave him alone."

"So? I don't hear him complaining about it. He'd probably wear you around like a jetpack if he could." Keith paused. "Actually, I'm pretty sure I've seen him do that."

Lance smiled to himself. "Yeah. Okay, I can't keep talking myself out of this. I'll ask him. But I need a favor from you first."

Keith's eyebrows went up. "Uh, alright?"

"You gotta talk to him. I'm worried that he thinks you and I are, like, y'know..." Lance bumped the heels of his palms together. "So you have to make sure he knows you're not into me. Unless you are. Are you? I wouldn't blame you, I mean, look at this body."

"Okay, stop, stop. Hunk doesn't think that. I, uh. I already told him about Shiro."

Lance's jaw dropped. "What the hell? You told Hunk and not me?" Lance reached up and twisted a nipple through Keith's shirt and Keith shouted, slapping him away.

"Hey! Don't touch my nipples." Keith held his hands over them protectively. "Yes, I told Hunk first. You tease me enough about Shiro as it is!"

"Yeah, and it looks like I was right this time, wasn't I?" Lance noticed Keith's face start to fall. "But who cares. Look, will you just be my wingman on this? I'm so nervous, man, I might barf on him for real."

"Yeah, relax, I'll talk to him. Where is he?"

"Hunk? I think he went into town to get breakfast. Wasn't feeling the oatmeal today. Wait, you're going now?"

Keith shrugged. "Don't have anything better to do. Why, isn't that what you wanted?"

Lance ran his hands through his hair. "Well, yeah, but. I don't know, I'm not ready! I need a shower. Do I smell?"

"You always smell, dude. Just go, you're stressing me out." Keith pushed Lance in the direction of his dorm and walked the other way, pulling out his tablet to check his messages.

2 Unread Messages

 **tshiro** : Keith, we really need to talk  
**tshiro** : I know why you're angry with me and I'm sorry. I'm trying my best here. Can I see you today?

Just seeing Shiro's name on his screen made Keith's heart jump. He hated the power the man held over him, even after what happened today.

 **kkogane** : when, after your stream?

Keith left through the outer doors of the garrison and headed for the bike racks that lined the front walls. His tablet flashed so soon after replying to Shiro that he thought it was a fluke.

 **tshiro** : Whenever you want  
**tshiro** : I don't have any streams scheduled today. Where are you right now?  
**kkogane** : i'm busy. you were a huge dick to lance  
**tshiro** : I know, I tried apologizing but he ran after you.  
**kkogane** : you can message him  
**tshiro** : You're right. I will.  
**tshiro** : I'll leave you alone. Please let me see you this weekend

Keith swiped Shiro's last message off the screen without replying. He'd deal with that later. He found his bike and pulled it backwards out of the rack, threw a leg over the crossbar, and pedaled off to find Hunk.

 

 

Hunk and Keith had spent almost an hour talking over a dirty table outside the town's only Taco Bell. Hunk had somehow managed to keep eating the entire time, while Keith just stole occasional sips of his drink. He had no idea how to work Lance into the conversation. Keith was the last guy in the world who should be helping get a relationship off the ground, but Lance needed him, so here he was.

"I didn't even know Taco Bell did breakfast."

"It's a gift," Hunk said, unwrapping another crunchwrap. "It's a sign that we're not alone in the universe. That someone is watching over us." He took a bite and showed the inside to Keith. "There's literally a whole hash brown in here."

Keith nodded. "Impressive."

A drop of water landed on Keith's hand and he looked up. Dark clouds were moving fast overhead and the wind was picking up. Another few drops fell on the table and Hunk stood up to throw his empty wrappers in the trash. "Wanna head back? It's supposed to storm."

"Oh," Keith said, and the umbrella leaning against Hunk's chair suddenly made sense. He stood and walked next to Hunk, pulling his bike alongside him. "I never check the weather."

"You live on the edge, my friend." Hunk opened his oversized umbrella and tried his best to cover both of them, but Keith's sleeve was starting to get wet.

"So," Keith started, unsure of how to approach this. "What do you think of Lance?"

"What do I think of him?" Hunk laughed. "Is that an actual question, or are you trying to tell me something?"

Keith just shrugged and kept his eyes on the path in front of them. The rain was coming down hard now.

Hunk hummed thoughtfully. "Okay, well. Didn't you just tell me a couple days ago you liked Shiro?"

"Yeah, why? Oh! No, no. I'm not asking for me."

"Okay..."

"I mean, Lance is great, but we're not like that." Hunk pointed out a small puddle and Keith stepped over it carefully. "I'm just asking because you guys seem really close."

"Oh. Well, yeah, I guess we are. But he doesn't like me like that, if that's what you're thinking."

"But do _you_ like him?"

Hunk pointed again and stopped. Keith thought it was another puddle, but the path looked smooth. Then he looked up and saw Shiro standing in front of them.

He walked closer until his umbrella was almost touching Hunk's. "What are you guys doing out here?"

Keith hadn't told Hunk about the drama that went down in the cafeteria. He gripped his bike handles tighter and avoided looking at Shiro, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.

Hunk noticed Keith's fidgeting. "We were just getting breakfast, but I forgot I have this thing I'm late for. Keith was going to let me take his bike back, but I didn't want him to get soaked."

Keith looked up at Hunk incredulously. "What are you talk- ow!" Hunk pressed his shoe down on Keith's toe. Oh, no. He was _not_ trying to play matchmaker right now.

"Oh. I'm headed back now anyway, I can walk with him. If that's okay with you, Keith."

"I'm fine, I don't need an umbrella."

"Ahh, this guy," Hunk laughed. He reached over and tugged the bike out of Keith's hands, dropping onto the wet seat before Keith could protest. He looked way too big for the bike. "Alright, thanks a lot, Shiro! See ya, Keith," he called as he rode off, grinning at him behind Shiro's back.

Shiro shuffled over to Keith and held his umbrella over him, looking unsure of how close he was supposed to stand. Keith was going to kill Hunk.

"You really don't have to walk me back, I can handle a little rain."

"I know, but I want to." Shiro paused. "I actually had one more errand to run. Do you have to get back right away?"

Keith shook his head and gestured for Shiro to keep walking. He wasn't ready to talk about what happened yet, but he didn't want to be rude, either.

"Thanks. Not trying to trap you or anything. Just need to stop at the pharmacy."

"What for?"

"Pain medication. I had to get fitted for a new prosthetic today, this one's old and the socket's starting to hurt."

Keith had almost forgotten that the metal arm wasn't just a naturally existing part of Shiro. He had never seen him without it. "Will it look the same?"

Shiro shrugged. "Probably. They have more realistic models, but they can get pretty expensive. This one works well enough for me."

They arrived at the pharmacy and Shiro held the door for Keith, closing his umbrella and ducking quickly inside the building. Keith wandered the aisles aimlessly while Shiro went over and made small talk with the pharmacist. He couldn't help but think that seeing Shiro in this environment made him seem more human.

Keith paused in front of a rack of contraceptives. What kind of condoms would Shiro use? Magnums, probably. Every guy Keith ever hooked up with used Magnums, but none of them had actually needed them. Shiro would. He glanced over at a small selection of personal lubricants and felt his skin get hot. He walked back towards the exit to wait for Shiro and tried to get the image of BlackLion's lubed-up dick out of his brain.

Shiro finished a minute later and walked up to Keith, tucking a paper bag in his jacket. "Need anything while we're here?"

"No, I'm good."

Shiro pushed the door open and popped the umbrella back up, ushering Keith underneath it. They started to head back to the garrison as Keith huddled closer to Shiro to stay out of the downpour.

"Were you looking at condoms in there?"

Keith blanched. "I wasn't looking. They were just there."

"Mhm."

"What? I can look if I want to." Keith pulled his jacket tighter around himself to ward off the cold.

Shiro smirked. "So you _were_ looking."

Keith huffed out a breath. He was getting irritated now. "Yes, Shiro, I was looking at condoms. I was trying to figure out which kind you need to buy because your dick is so big. There, happy?"

Shiro coughed. He checked to make sure the umbrella was keeping Keith dry and looked away again quickly. "Sorry. I was just joking."

"I know you were. I'm not in the mood."

They both stopped talking and walked in tense silence through the rain. It would be at least another fifteen minutes before they arrived back at the garrison and Keith was dreading every minute. He felt his tablet buzz in his jacket and pulled it out, grateful for the distraction.

3 Unread Messages

 **itslancebitch** : did u talk to him????  
**itslancebitch** : does he think im hot ;A;  
**itslancebitch** : im ready 4 u now hunk. isnt it obvi

Keith grinned and wiped his hands on the driest part of his jacket, hoping Shiro would keep him from walking into something as he typed.

 **kkogane** : I tried. we ran into shiro and hunk took my bike and ditched me  
**itslancebitch** : HAHAHAHAHAHA  
**itslancebitch** : ur on a date w shiro  
**itslancebitch** : thats gay bro  
**kkogane** : stfu  
**kkogane** : it's pouring out I can't escape  
**itslancebitch** : wait  
**itslancebitch** : did u guys get wet  
**itslancebitch** : is a wet hunk on his way here rn  
**itslancebitch** : o mg _(:3 」∠)_  
**itslancebitch** : i knew i could count on u!!

Shiro cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Are you talking to Lance?"

"Yeah," Keith replied, tucking his tablet away. "Have you apologized to him yet?"

"I did," Shiro said, wiggling his own tablet out of a pocket with one hand, "but then he sent me this, and I'm not sure what it means."

Keith peered over at Shiro's tablet. There was a long paragraph on Shiro's side of the screen, followed by a one-line reply from Lance.

 **itslancebitch** : tell it to bofa

Keith laughed and pushed the tablet back against Shiro's chest. "Don't answer that. He's setting you up."

Shiro smiled and let his eyes fall back on the path in front of them. He was quiet for a moment, then sighed tiredly. "How did it get like this?"

"Like what?"

"You know," Shiro said, gesturing between them. "This. We were friends yesterday and now you can't seem to stand me."

"We were friends until you put a hickey on my neck."

"Yeah, and now we're _this._ Whatever the hell this is. I should never have done that."

Keith sighed. "Yeah, keep talking about how much you regret it. Feels great."

Shiro stopped walking, forcing Keith to stop with him. "Will you cut it out with the smart remarks? I'm trying to have a conversation with you."

"I didn't say I was ready to talk," Keith snapped, leveling Shiro with a defiant glare.

"Yeah, fine," Shiro muttered. "Let's not even address the fact that you made me look like a jackass in front of the whole cafeteria this morning."

Keith held a hand over the mark on his neck as if protecting its modesty. "You made yourself look like a jackass. You keep treating me like I'm some hormonal teenager for not immediately going back to normal after what happened."

Shiro's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "All I did was mark up your neck, Keith. You were close to going way farther with that creep in the bar."

"And you can't see how you might matter more to me than some guy I knew for five fucking minutes?" Keith blinked fast as his eyes stung with hot tears. "I've liked you for years, Shiro. Ever since I met you. Then you held me last night and it was one of the happiest moments of my life, because I thought you finally wanted me, too. But no. You just accuse me of living out some delusional BlackLion fantasy and walk away. You really hurt me."

Keith wiped his eyes on the back of his hand and sniffed, and Shiro's resolve crumbled. His shoulders slumped and he let out a shaky breath, holding an arm out towards Keith. "Can you come here?" He spoke so softly that Keith almost couldn't hear him over the rain.

Keith stepped forward and let Shiro wrap an arm around him tightly. His frustrations melted away in the warmth of the older man's hold, and he prayed that he wouldn't let go this time. He buried his face in Shiro's jacket, breathing him in and feeling his heartbeat pound under his cheek. Shiro shifted his hold on the umbrella so he could hug Keith properly, humming a satisfied note when he finally got both arms around him.

"Please don't think I left because I didn't want you. I wanted you too much, I was so scared I was going to hurt you." Shiro rested his cheek against Keith's hair, rocking him gently. "It was one of the best nights of my life, too. Aside from watching some other guy put his hands on you."

Keith smiled against Shiro's chest. "You went all alpha on him. It was kind of hot."

Shiro pulled away just far enough to look at Keith's face. "You _yelled_ at me."

"Yeah, because you cockblocked me. I was close to finally getting some."

"With that guy?" Shiro squeezed Keith tightly. "Even as your friend, I would never let you."

"I know." Keith tucked his arms in front of his chest, burrowing closer to the taller man's body heat. "So we're still just friends."

Shiro swallowed. "No, not just friends. But I still want to do this right. We need to get to know each other better."

"Why can't that include what you did to me last night?"

The older man inhaled slowly, dragging his gaze along Keith's collar. "You know what I mean, Keith. I've been thinking about this for a long time, what it would be like when I finally had you. I don't want to ruin our chances by moving too fast."

"You can't plan for everything," Keith said, nuzzling his face higher until he was nosing at Shiro's neck. The man's scent was heavy and dizzying. "Just try going with the flow. You won't get everything right the first time."

"It's hard for me. You know what I'm like," Shiro murmured. He rubbed a hand between Keith's shoulder blades. "I'm sorry for acting like this. You deserve better."

"It's okay. I'm sorry, too." Keith pressed his lips against the bolt of Shiro's jaw, reveling in the groan it pulled out of the man.

"Don't make me hard out in public."

Keith loosened his hold on Shiro and leaned back to look him in the eye. "I thought you get off on that?"

Shiro squinted down at him. "What do you know about it?"

"What, exhibitionism?" Keith shrugged and tugged on the lapels of Shiro's jacket. "Nothing, really. Just that you like being watched."

"Yeah," Shiro said, licking his lips. "There's a little more to it than that, but... have you ever thought about it?"

"Have I thought about jerking off in public?"

Shiro nodded as if he had just asked Keith a perfectly normal question.

"No, I haven't. Do I look like a deviant to you?"

Shiro ignored that. "It's hard to describe. You feel completely exposed, but powerful at the same time. And when strangers watch you, you can feel it, like it's a physical touch."

Keith's mouth flooded with saliva at the look in Shiro's eyes. He looked a little crazed, like Keith had said the exact words needed to free some caged persona inside of him. Keith took a step back and saw Shiro's length bulging in his pants, fully hard.

"Jesus, Shiro."

"What's the matter?"

"You, you're gonna break your zipper."

Shiro looked down at himself and made a noise of agreement. "Yeah, feels like it."

Keith's breathing stuttered. "We can head back now, if you need to, you know. Take care of it."

"Is that what you want to happen?" Shiro asked, looking back up at Keith. The boy's eyes were still glued to his zipper. "Or are you just saying what you think I want to hear?"

Keith bit his lip and looked up through his eyelashes. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do." Shiro stepped closer, pulling Keith's body flush against his. He leaned down and spoke next to Keith's ear. "If you were in your room right now, alone, picturing this happening... what would you want to happen next?"

Keith's whole body shivered. Shiro's voice had dropped lower, closer to BlackLion's register, and it was more than he could handle. "I don't know," he said again, "I'd want you to take control, I guess. Take what you wanted."

Shiro nodded and rubbed a hand against Keith's side. He turned to look at their surroundings, seeing something in the distance that made his eyes light up. "We need to get you out of the rain. Are you up for something a little risky? If you're uncomfortable, just tell me, I don't want to pressure you."

Keith nodded quickly. "I trust you. Are you sure you're ready for this, though? I can wait, it's okay, really."

"I'm still unsure about it," Shiro said, rubbing circles against Keith's hipbone with his thumb. "But I can't think about anything else right now. We'll worry about the consequences later."

Keith's chest expanded and he couldn't keep from smiling. He finally felt like Shiro wanted him, too. "Sounds good. So, where're you taking me?"

 

 

Keith clung loosely to Shiro's jacket as the senior cadet punched a 6-digit code into an unmarked keypad, unlocking the gate to the vehicle paddock. The gate swung open with a drawn-out creak and Shiro led them inside, walking calmly past rows of open-air carts and unhitched trailers. He eventually stopped in front of a sand-colored Humvee in such a state of disrepair that Keith cringed.

"We're getting in _that?"_

The truck sat on blocks of concrete with its doors ripped off and tossed hastily on the ground around it. The windshield had been smashed out from the inside, a set of taped-up hand tools still scattered on the dashboard. Shiro gave the backseat a once-over and turned to Keith, shrugging.

"It's dry, at least. I'd have to use my ID to unlock one of the other trucks, which leaves a record of us being here. Ready?"

He held a hand out to Keith, giving him a lift as he climbed into the back of the vehicle. Shiro ducked in after him, pulling his umbrella shut and dropping it over the front seat. The backseat was cut in half by a bulky metal divider, forcing Shiro to put a knee down on the seat next to Keith.

"Okay, this is a little tighter than I thought," he laughed, towering over Keith. The rain fell in heavy drops against the roof, blowing against the open frame and getting their pantlegs wet. "Is this okay?"

No, Keith thought, this is insane. He didn't want their first time together to be crammed in the back of a gutted Humvee in the middle of a rainstorm. He knew he couldn't say no, though, not when the man was looking down at him like he had just won the lottery. Keith gripped Shiro's thigh tightly and nodded, shifting on the seat and spreading his legs wide. "We'll make it work."

Shiro smiled and pressed his hand down over Keith's, lacing their fingers together. His crotch was positioned right in front of Keith's face. He started pulling Keith's hand up across his thigh until his palm was resting right over Shiro's hard-on, and he pushed Keith's hand into it gently, making them both moan.

"Fuck," Shiro gasped, working Keith's hand in small circles against his erection. "Feels so good, Keith." He let go of the boy's hand, leaning forward and resting his forearms next to Keith's head. He hung his head down and watched as Keith used both hands to feel him through his uniform, kneading the whole length of him. He was radiating heat through his clothes and Keith thought he might be burning alive.

"Can I see it?" Keith asked timidly, running a finger along the bulging zipper and looking up to meet Shiro's eyes. Shiro shook his head, chuckling when Keith whined pitifully at being denied.

"I know, I know. You'll get it soon." Shiro shuffled backwards off the seat until he was kneeling on the floor between Keith's legs. He pushed Keith's jacket off of his shoulders and laid it carefully on the metal divider, reaching next for the hem of Keith's shirt. "Can I...?"

Keith sat upright and helped Shiro pull the shirt over his head, reaching up to smooth his hair back down. He felt Shiro's hands working at his belt buckle and grabbed the man's wrist. "Why am I getting naked and you're not?"

Shiro raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you want to stop?"

"No," Keith whispered, letting go of his wrist and watching as his belt was pulled free. "But I want to see you, too."

"I think you've seen a lot of me already." Shiro folded the belt in his hands, running his fingers over the leather. He seemed to consider something for a moment before setting it on the floor between his legs. "I don't think we'll need a safeword yet, but I need you to speak up if you want to stop. No means no, even if I think you want me to keep going. Okay?"

"Okay." Keith fidgeted in his seat. "Do you have, um. Stuff?"

Shiro wrapped his arms around Keith and pulled him forward until his groin was pressed against Shiro's waist. "Yeah, in my wallet. But I'm not fucking you in here, if that's what you're wondering."

"Oh," Keith mumbled, feeling childish.

"Hey, I didn't mean that I don't want to. It's just," Shiro looked out at the rain and laughed. "This isn't where I pictured our first time. I want you in my bed for that."

Keith smiled and ran a hand through the back of Shiro's hair. "Me, too." His heart rate picked up as he searched Shiro's eyes, suddenly wanting something so badly and not knowing how to ask for it. "Shiro?"

"Hm?" Shiro watched as Keith's lips parted, his gaze dropping to the man's mouth. He looked like he was going to cry.

"I want..." Keith trailed off, flicking his eyes back up to Shiro's and pleading with him silently.

"Oh, sweetheart," Shiro brought Keith's head down to his and kissed his open mouth, swallowing Keith's gasp and surging forward until Keith was splayed out on the seat. Shiro's mouth moved against his so tenderly that Keith forgot how to breathe, clinging to Shiro's jacket and pulling him even closer. Shiro cradled Keith's jaw with a metal hand and dipped his tongue into the boy's mouth, groaning when Keith's tongue met his for the first time.

A gust of wind blew through the open frame of the Humvee and sprayed them both with cold rainwater. Shiro broke away from Keith's mouth and yelped in shock, shaking the water out of his hair and laughing as Keith held his hands over his face. He leaned back down and covered Keith's body with his, pulling his hands away and drowning him in another kiss. Keith held Shiro's face with both hands and kissed him back eagerly. He knew he would never want anyone this badly ever again.

Shiro kissed wetly at the edge of Keith's mouth and started leaving kisses down along his jawline until he reached the hickey on his neck. He paused and breathed hot air against it, making Keith squirm beneath him. "Looks so good on you..." He lifted his head and bit hard at Keith's bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth and nursing it gently as Keith whined.

Keith was getting uncomfortably tight in his pants. He pulled Shiro's face away, leaning back and panting to catch his breath. Shiro looked down and rubbed a hand over Keith's bare stomach. Without thinking, Keith arched his back and pushed his chest forward, making Shiro huff out a laugh.

"Trying to ask for something?" Shiro bracketed Keith's chest with both hands, grazing the boy's nipples with his thumbs. Keith closed his eyes and lolled his head to the side, overwhelmed with sensation. "God, you're sensitive, aren't you?" Shiro lowered his head and flicked his tongue against a hard nub, dragging his bottom lip across it and sucking it into his mouth.

"Oh!" Keith sprang to life under Shiro's mouth, grabbing the back of his head and holding him against his chest. "Ohmygod, _please,_ don't stop..." Shiro rubbed Keith's other nipple with the tip of his finger while he continued his ministrations, humming a low note while he worked his tongue over and over the sensitive peak. He reached down and started working Keith's zipper open with one hand, groping the boy's erection through his boxer briefs.

"Fuck, you're hard." Shiro lifted his head and looked back and forth between Keith's eyes as he stroked him through the fabric. "This for me?"

"Uh-huh," Keith breathed, pushing his hips into Shiro's grip. "I think I'm gonna come."

"Already?" Shiro's eyebrows shot up and he pulled away, tugging Keith's pants down around his ass to get a better look at him. "Jesus, Keith, you're _wet,"_ he whispered, touching the wet spot forming over the head of Keith's dick.

Suddenly Shiro's back straightened and he looked at Keith like a deer in the headlights. "Shit. Down."

"What?"

"Get down!" Shiro shuffled backwards on his knees and dragged Keith off of the seat, right down onto his lap. He held the back of Keith's head against his shoulder and whispered into his ear. "Don't move."

Keith had no idea what was happening until he heard voices yelling in the distance, coming closer to their end of the paddock. His heart jackrabbited in his chest. They were going to get caught. He tried reaching up for his shirt, but Shiro stopped his hand with an iron grip.

"What did I just say?" Shiro hissed, holding Keith against him as he rose up on his knees and tried to peer over the front seat. His erection was pushing right up against the cleft of Keith's ass, not diminished at all by the threat of someone seeing them. Keith wondered if this was a turn-on for Shiro. Getting naked for the camera was one thing, but getting caught with a half-naked cadet in his lap might be another.

Keith could make out two distinct voices making their way towards the Humvee. Their boots crunched loudly on the gravel, even through the constant splash of the rain. Shiro's breathing was slow and even, but Keith could feel his pulse racing in his neck.

"I don't see anything missing, do you?"

"Nah, think someone's just fucking with the gate again. When did you get the alert?"

Shiro hugged Keith closer as the voices shouted back and forth across the lot, covering as much of his bare back as he could.

"I don't know, ten minutes ago? It's fucking pouring, man, let's just leave it."

"Go back in if you're gonna be a whiny bitch about it. Commander wants every vehicle accounted for. I've got north end, you take south."

Shiro inhaled sharply. "I've done those checks. They have to walk down every aisle," he whispered to Keith. He looked around quickly as if searching for a way out. "Okay. I have to go out there, you stay here and don't move."

"Wait," Keith hissed, pulling Shiro back down and running a hand through his white forelock. "Sorry. You had sex hair."

Shiro pressed a quick kiss against Keith's temple and carefully dislodged him from his lap, setting him down on the floor and clambering out into the rain. Keith crawled as far as he could into the vehicle, hugging his knees against his bare chest. He hoped Shiro came back soon. He was so close to coming that it hurt.

"Hey, you there!"

"Easy, it's just me. What are you guys doing out here?"

"Takashi, that you?"

"Yeah, left my tablet in one of the trucks. Just found it."

"Jesus, man, ever hear of an umbrella?"

Keith heard Shiro laugh and the two cadets made their way over to him, standing and talking right in front of the Humvee. Keith pressed a hand against his erection and squirmed, growing even more aroused at the thought of them seeing him like this.

"I was in a hurry, wasn't coming down that hard when I came out here. What, I set off the alarm or something?"

"Yeah, you know how it is. If shit goes missing on our watch it's our ass. C'mon, we'll walk back with you."

Keith shifted and pulled himself out of his underwear, sighing with relief. He rubbed his thumb over the slick head and slid his body farther down until he was laying on the floor, his knees tucked against his chest to keep his feet from dangling out of the vehicle.

"Nah, you guys go ahead, don't want the commander to see me soaking wet. I'll head in when the storm lets up."

"Alright. Just give us a heads up next time, save us the trouble."

"You got it."

Keith listened to their retreating footsteps and started stroking himself faster. He couldn't believe he had his dick out in the open like this and he was thrumming with nervous excitement. Shiro appeared again next to the Humvee and froze when he saw Keith. He was drenched, but Keith didn't complain when he crawled inside and draped his whole body over him.

"Shit, look at you, what were you thinking?" He kissed Keith hard on the mouth, dripping water everywhere as Keith continued to jerk himself off beneath him. "Did that turn you on? Almost getting caught?"

Keith nodded and lifted his hips up as Shiro pulled his pants and underwear off in one quick motion, throwing them up onto the seat. "Couldn't wait anymore." He was completely naked now, letting Shiro brush his hand away from his dick and taking hold of him, stroking Keith quickly and mouthing just below his ear.

"You're so fucking perfect, Keith, can't believe... come on, let go for me, show me how pretty you look when you come..."

Keith made a high-pitched noise and held onto Shiro's shoulders, looking down at the man's hand flying up and down on his cock. He felt his balls draw up and Shiro's other hand grabbed onto his jaw, tilting his head up and forcing him to look into Shiro's eyes.

"Look at me."

Keith fucking lost it. He arched up off the floor of the Humvee and came in Shiro's hand, crying out and pushing his hips up into the man's fist. He squeezed his eyes shut and Shiro grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling hard and forcing Keith's eyes open again. Keith mewled weakly as Shiro milked the last drop out of him. He rode out the last waves of his orgasm and felt Shiro unwrap his fingers from his cock, reaching down and petting Keith's balls softly.

"There you go. You did so good. Are you alright? Do you need to get up?"

Keith shook his head tiredly and let his eyes fall closed, stretching his legs out and dangling them over the edge of the vehicle. His nerves were pushed to their limit and the cool rain felt like heaven on his skin. "M'okay. Don't wanna get up."

Shiro smoothed out Keith's eyebrows with a metal thumb and kissed his eyelids softly. Then Keith heard the sound of a zipper being opened and felt Shiro's arm start working frantically. He was beating off right on top of him.

"I need to come, Keith, can I do it right here?" Keith opened his eyes just as Shiro ran a finger through the mess on Keith's stomach, right above the boy's spent cock. "Just tell me no and I won't. Keith?"

Keith's eyes were huge. He was looking at Shiro's dick and it wasn't through a laptop screen. His arm felt heavy as he lifted his hand up, dragging his fingertips through the soft hair at the base and tracing all the way to the head. Shiro made a punched-out noise and Keith pointed the tip of his cock down towards Keith's stomach, smiling up at Shiro and nodding.

"Fuck, holy fuck-" Shiro clenched his jaw tightly and breathed hard through his nose, spilling his come all over Keith's belly. Keith hummed happily and lifted his hips up, flinching when Shiro's next shot landed right on his oversensitive dick. He scratched his nails gently against the back of Shiro's head as he started to come down, looking down at Keith's body with his mouth hanging open. "Oh my god."

Keith chuckled and pulled Shiro's head down, kissing him with his mouth closed. Shiro pulled back and covered Keith's face with a dozen quick kisses.

"God, you're even better than I imagined. I wish I could take your picture right now, you look like an angel."

Keith made a face at him. "I'm literally covered in jizz."

"So? It's a good look on you."

Keith punched Shiro's shoulder affectionately as the man zipped his pants back up. "How are we gonna walk back into the garrison like this?"

Shiro pressed his lips together. "That's a good question. I'm soaked, and you're..." His face suddenly lit up with an idea and Keith tensed up.

"I'm what?"

"You're also soaked." Shiro scrambled backwards out of the Humvee and pulled Keith's legs forward.

"No! Don't you fucking dare!" Keith kicked his legs out and slapped Shiro's hands away, but the man was too strong. He tugged until Keith's whole body tumbled out onto the ground, giving him just enough time to break his fall with his hands. Shiro doubled over in laughter as Keith pushed himself up off the ground and crawled naked back into the vehicle, out of the downpour.

Keith shouted out a string of obscenities at Shiro as he got dressed. "Hey, at least you're clean, right?" Shiro held his stomach as he laughed, trying to get back inside the truck and failing as Keith repeatedly blocked him.

"Stay out there!" Keith shouted, pulling his clothes on and cringing as the fabric clung to his wet skin. He reached over the front seat and grabbed the umbrella, sticking it out into the rain and popping it open.

"Hey, don't forget your belt," Shiro said, leaning in and picking it up off the floor. Keith snatched it out of his hand and Shiro grinned. "I had plans for that, but we were, uh. Interrupted."

Keith blushed as he handed the umbrella to Shiro, standing close to him as he wound the belt through the loops on his pants and buckled it shut. "Okay, so now what? My dorm's on the other side of the building."

Shiro fixed the collar on Keith's jacket and lead him forward towards the gate. "The senior dorms are in the front. You can stop in my room and towel off, if you want. I don't think you'll fit in my clothes though."

They made it to the front of the garrison and nodded to a junior cadet as they passed through the doors, shaking out the umbrella. Keith didn't even want to think about how bad this looked. Shiro guided him quickly down a long hallway, hitting his door switch and pulling Keith inside his dorm just before a group of instructors walked by.

Shiro sighed loudly, dropping the umbrella on the ground and peeling his jacket off. "Okay then. Rule number one, no more hooking up outside during rainstorms."

Keith stepped out of his boots and started laying his wet clothes out near a vent. "No. Rule number one should be that we don't force our boyfriends to stand naked out in the rain." Keith stripped down to his boxer briefs and padded into Shiro's bathroom. "Can I just use any towel?"

Shiro was quiet. Keith walked back out of the bathroom with an oversized black towel wrapped around his shoulders.

"Uh, I took that as a yes?"

Shiro stood next to his desk, holding the bottle of pain medication he had picked up at the pharmacy earlier. "Keith, I think you just called me your boyfriend."

Keith pulled the towel tighter around himself and shrugged. "I didn't mean... I don't know. It just came out."

Shiro nodded and went into the bathroom to hang his clothes over the shower door. Keith followed after him with a frown on his face.

"So you're not talking to me now?"

"I thought you understood me earlier. I want to do this at the right pace."

"You just jerked me off in a Humvee. Outside. In the rain."

"Yes, Keith, I was there. Don't get smart with me again."

Keith laughed and stared at Shiro in disbelief. "Don't get _smart_ with you? Shiro-"

"I don't want you to think that's how my brain works, okay? I don't get to just fuck you and call you mine, I need to work for it, and prove to you that I'm in this for good. Alright? I need to take you out, treat you to dinner, be the guy holding doors for you, whatever." Shiro stepped closer and put his hands on Keith's waist, lowering his voice. "I know you think I'm a control freak, but I need to do that."

Keith worried his bottom lip and looked away. It wasn't that Shiro didn't want to be his boyfriend, it was that Shiro didn't think he _deserved_ to be his boyfriend until he proved himself. He suddenly wished he hadn't been so quick to snap at him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry." Keith huddled closer and tipped his head against Shiro's chest. "I didn't mean to get angry. I was worried you didn't want me again."

Shiro brushed Keith's wet hair back from his forehead and sighed. "Please don't think that anymore. I kind of shut down when you said 'boyfriend,' but... I do want that. Can I see you again this week? Sometime after your classes?"

"Yeah, you can." Keith leaned up and planted a kiss on Shiro's mouth, feeling happy for it when the man's face broke out in a smile. Keith reached one hand down under the towel and pulled his boxer briefs off, flinging them over the shower to dry with the rest of Shiro's clothes. "I'll have to wait for my clothes to dry."

Shiro turned pink and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's fine. Are you hungry? I was thinking of ordering in food."

Keith hummed his approval and walked back out of the bathroom, flopping onto Shiro's bed and adjusting the towel to cover himself. "Got a menu?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shiro on the phone ordering chinese like "hello i'd like to place an order for delivery. keith close ur legs. what do you want to eat. cream of what? omg i'm not saying that keith PUT UR TOWEL BACK ON"


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow guys did you hear them confirm at the nycc voltron panel that blacklion is real and that he has an eight-pack

A loud snore woke Keith up just after midnight. He propped himself up on one elbow and blinked at the darkness, patting the bed next to him and finding it empty.

"Shiro?"

The room was quiet. Keith dropped his legs over the side of the bed and his foot landed on something firm and smooth.

"Nnh."

Keith pulled his legs back onto the bed and perched on the edge of the mattress. He could just barely make out the shape of Shiro asleep on the floor, his right side pressed up against the bed.

"Shiro. Shiro!" Keith snapped his fingers and the man groaned, sitting up slowly and leaning his shirtless body against the bedframe. "Why're you on the floor?"

"Didn't wanna wake you," he grumbled, his voice rough with sleep.

Keith breathed out a sigh. They had Chinese delivered to Shiro's dorm yesterday and had spread the food containers out on the floor, calling out answers to Jeopardy questions around mouthfuls of chicken and broccoli. Shiro warned Keith that his pain medication might make him drowsy, and Keith had poked fun at him for going to bed before the sun went down. Now it seemed that Keith was the one who had passed out first. He blamed the food.

"C'mon," Keith said, taking hold of Shiro's arm and yanking it up in the air. "Bed."

"Floor's good. Aligns your spine."

Keith dropped Shiro's arm and let it fall back against the man's side like a marionette with its strings cut. He was too tired to go back and forth right now. "I'm cold," he lied.

Without another word, Shiro pushed himself up off the floor and dropped a knee onto the mattress heavily, brushing Keith's legs aside to make room. Keith scooted back until his head hit the pillows and Shiro slumped down next to him, tugging the blanket up around their shoulders. Keith hoped it was too dark to make out the delighted grin on his face.

Shiro wrapped an arm around Keith and rubbed his hand up and down the curve of his back vigorously. He paused and grabbed a handful of fabric. "You're still wearing my sweater."

Keith shrugged a shoulder and burrowed down into the blanket until half his face was hidden.

"How're you cold, then?" Shiro slid a hand under the hem of the baggy sweater and pressed a hand flat against the boy's spine. Keith's body jerked.

"Jesus, your hands are ice! Off!"

"Thought you wanted me to warm you up." Shiro flipped his hand over and pressed the chilled skin against Keith's back, making him yelp. He then dragged a bare foot up Keith's leg and pressed the sole of it against a warm thigh. "Mm, toasty."

Keith thrashed and tried to get away from Shiro's assault, but he was trapped against the wall. Shiro laughed and tried to nuzzle closer, but Keith held him at arm's length.

"You're fucking freezing. Why didn't you just get in the bed with me?"

"I tried, you slapped me in your sleep."

"Oh." Keith tucked his hands against his chest and let Shiro pull him closer, tangling their legs together under the blanket. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Shiro whispered. He rested his chin on the top of Keith's head and closed his eyes. "It was pretty cute."

Keith grunted and bumped an elbow against Shiro's ribs. "Go t'sleep."

 

 

Another loud noise disturbed Keith's sleep just before sunrise, this time a shrill ringing coming from Shiro's tablet. Shiro grumbled something and turned his face into the pillow, stretching out on his stomach. He didn't seem to be functioning at normal Shiro capacity yet. Keith crawled over him clumsily to slap at the tablet screen but Shiro flung an arm out to stop him.

"Keith, 's not the alarm-"

It was too late. Keith had swiped blindly at the screen and fell back against the pillows.

"Shiro? Hello?"

A loud voice sounded from the speakers. Oops. Keith had just answered a phone call.

"Yeah, man." Shiro lifted his head just high enough to speak clearly, hugging the pillow under him with his eyes closed. "What d'you need."

"Sorry, I wake you up? You're usually coming back from a run by now."

Keith snorted. Of course Shiro would be working out at the asscrack of dawn on a Sunday.

"Skipped it today. What's up."

"It's not super important, I just have to turn this thing in to the commander in a few hours and I need help. We're finalizing the crew for that Europa mission."

Shiro shuffled up to his knees and turned the bedside lamp on, mouthing an apology to Keith when the boy winced and shielded his face against the light. He dropped back into a sitting position and rested his elbows on his knees. "Okay. How many positions do you need filled?"

"Just one. We're obviously good as far as the pilot goes, but no one else on the team can fly a craft of that size. If there's an emergency and comms go out, we can't help them fly it back home. So, you know. I tried telling the commander that was never gonna happen-"

"No. Commander's right. You can't send a team out without at least two qualified pilots on board."

"Then who the hell do I pick? There aren't any seniors left who can take that much time off."

Shiro rubbed a hand over his face. "Then get a junior to do it. They're always begging for missions."

"Like who? That Kogane kid you're in love with?"

Shiro grabbed the tablet off the bedside table and jabbed his finger against the screen, taking the call off speaker. He stood up from the bed and walked stiffly into the bathroom, keeping his face hidden from Keith.

Keith sat up on his elbows and stared at the bathroom door. Had Shiro talked about Keith with his friends? Or was that just a joke? He couldn't think of a reason why another senior cadet would even know his name unless Shiro had mentioned it to them. He heard the man speaking in hushed tones behind the door and waited, his mind racing.

After a few minutes, Shiro's voice could no longer be heard from the bathroom, but he didn't come out. Keith worried that he was too embarrassed. He threw the blankets aside and got out of bed, holding onto the waistband of his boxers with one hand while he stretched. He had borrowed Shiro's smallest pair, but they were still too big on him. The sleeves of the man's sweater even hung past his fingertips. Keith padded over to the bathroom door and knocked on it softly.

"You almost done in there? I need to pee."

The door opened and Shiro walked past Keith into the bedroom, his expression unreadable. When Keith finished stalling in the bathroom, he found Shiro sitting on the edge of the bed in full uniform. He glanced up at Keith and took a deep breath.

"I guess you heard that."

Keith walked over and stood in between Shiro's legs, resting his hands on the man's shoulders. "Yeah."

Shiro's mouth turned up in a weak smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't even say anything, I promise. The guys just kind of... figured it out."

"Really? How?"

Shiro ran his hands up the back of Keith's thighs and looked away. "I don't know. They caught me staring at you in the cafeteria. Then they started... singing lines from some Grease song. It became a whole thing."

Keith was trying with all his might to keep his voice steady. He could only imagine how red Shiro's face must have looked. "What song?"

Shiro looked up and frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together. "I'm not singing it."

"Okay," Keith laughed. "It's not a big deal, anyway. I told Hunk about you."

Shiro's hands stopped under the swell of Keith's ass. "You did? What did you say?"

"I don't know, the normal stuff? I just needed to vent. It was right after the, uh." Keith fidgeted for a moment. "When I found out about BlackLion."

"Ah. Okay. I thought you meant you told him about, you know. This," Shiro said, giving Keith a squeeze.

Keith wanted to back out of Shiro's grip and ask what he meant by that, but he already knew where that argument was going to go. Shiro was still driving their relationship twenty miles under the speed limit. Keith wasn't used to it, but he was willing to wait for him to find his nerve. He shook his head and shifted closer to Shiro.

"No. Pidge and Lance probably told him about the hickey, but that's it."

"Good." Shiro smiled and hooked a finger in Keith's waistband, sliding the boxers down and letting them pool around Keith's feet. "Got any plans today?"

"Uh, no, not really. Just." Keith stepped out of the boxers and kicked them under the dresser, shuddering when Shiro slid his hands under the sweater to grope his bare ass. "Just studying. You?"

"Kind of busy. I have to meet up with the cadet that called me earlier before he has a meltdown. Then running some drills." Shiro looked down at Keith's erection starting to jut out beneath the sweater. "Want me to take care of that before I go?"

Keith started to pull the sweater over his head but Shiro pulled his hands back down gently.

"Leave it on. I like you in my clothes."

Keith blushed. "Alright. Don't complain when I get come on it."

"You won't." Shiro lifted the sweater up to Keith's belly button and pulled him forward to kiss the flat of his stomach, sucking a wet trail down to his thighs and purposefully avoiding the hard-on staring him in the face. Keith tried pushing his hips forward, but the more he tried, the more Shiro diverted his mouth.

Keith made a frustrated noise and Shiro looked up at him, his lips slick and swollen.

"What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong."

"No, I don't," Shiro murmured, nuzzling around the base of Keith's cock. "Are you going to tell me?"

Keith heaved out a sigh. "You're not sucking my dick. Don't you have places to be?"

Shiro laughed against Keith's skin and dropped the hem of his sweater, letting it fall over Keith's erection again. "I didn't want it to be over too soon. Are you in a hurry?"

"No, but I'm not going to blow my load in three seconds." Keith lifted the sweater again and Shiro took him in his hand, wrapping metal fingers loosely around his shaft. "You don't have to go so slow."

Shiro held him tighter and raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Keith huffed, unable to hide his impatience.

"Okay. I'll stop teasing you." Shiro reached around and grabbed a handful of Keith's ass, pulling him forward until the tip of his cock was hovering in front of the man's mouth. "Did I mention I don't have a gag reflex?"

Keith's eyes widened as Shiro guided him forward into his mouth, not stopping until his nose hit Keith's stomach.

"Jesus, fuck!" Keith gripped Shiro's hair with one hand and held on for dear life as he felt the man's throat work around him, drowning in the heat of his mouth. He shut his eyes and tried pulling Shiro's head even closer, but he was already buried to the root. Shiro hummed a long note and the vibrations almost made Keith's knees give out.

Shiro pulled off with a shameless slurp a minute later and grinned up at Keith, his skin flushed with effort. "You okay?"

Keith nodded and pushed his hips forward again, panting too hard to speak. Shiro bent his head and licked a wide stripe from the base of Keith's cock all the way to the head, watching it slide back off his tongue and bounce in mid-air.

"You can come whenever you're ready," he said casually, massaging Keith's ass as he swallowed him back down again. Shiro sucked his cheeks in and bobbed his head quickly, knowing that Keith was already close.

Keith tightened his grip in Shiro's hair and started bucking his hips forward, unable to control himself. Shiro didn't seem to mind, though. He closed his eyes and hummed contentedly, forcing his jaw to open wider as Keith fucked his throat. Keith started to slow down when he felt his orgasm build low in his groin.

"Shiro, stop, it's coming," he breathed, trying to pull his hips away. Shiro opened his eyes and looked up at Keith, working his tongue eagerly. Keith moaned weakly at the sight. He tried again to pull his dick free and Shiro slapped his ass hard, drawing a startled cry from the boy as he came in a rush down Shiro's throat.

Shiro wrapped an arm around Keith when his legs finally gave out, supporting his body weight as his orgasm wracked him. He waited until Keith hissed from oversensitivity to pull his mouth away, swallowing Keith's load with a satisfied hum.

"You're kind of tangy. I like it."

Keith crawled onto the bed and rolled onto his back, cradling a pillow against his chest. "Don't talk to me," he panted. "You're a monster."

Shiro chuckled and pulled the pillow away, draping his body over Keith's. "Why am I a monster?"

"You _know_ why." Keith's eyelid twitched as he felt his dick throb one last time. "You just tried to kill me. In broad daylight."

Shiro's whole body shook with laughter. He planted a trail of kisses down the side of Keith's face, rubbing his bare thigh as he smiled down at him. "Want some water?"

"No. I'm fine." Keith flicked his gaze down towards Shiro's mouth. "Can you kiss me, though?"

Shiro lowered his head and pressed his lips against Keith's, opening his mouth and letting Keith taste himself on his tongue. Their mouths moved together lazily, neither cadet willing to pull away. They finally broke apart and Shiro pushed a hand through Keith's hair, scratching his nails against his scalp lightly. "You don't have to ask."

 

 

Keith got dressed in his now dry uniform and stopped in his room to charge his tablet, putting off his messages until later. He had spent almost a full day with Shiro and he was still trying to come back to the real world. He swapped out his underwear for fresh ones, remembering how pink Shiro had turned when Keith asked for a pair of his boxers to wear. He loved getting a reaction out of him.

There was a knock at the door and before Keith could answer, Lance stormed in holding his tablet, his knuckles pale with how tight he was gripping it.

"Well, well, well. Finally made the walk of shame back after your night of debauchery?"

Keith folded his arms across his chest defensively. "What do you want?"

"I want you to answer your fucking messages!" Lance stormed past Keith and ripped his tablet off the charger, tapping at the screen. "Oh, look. You haven't read any of them. What a shocker. Do you even know what's going on?"

"Do I look like I know?" Keith snatched his tablet away from Lance. Pidge had started a group chat and most of the messages were in all caps, some of them just Keith's name typed over and over, trying to get his attention. "What the hell happened?"

Lance rolled Keith's desk chair to the middle of the room and dropped down into it with a sigh. "They screwed us over, dude. Evals got moved up to Thursday and they changed our partners on us."

Keith's face fell. _"This_ Thursday?"

"Yeah. They sent the message out last night, we were all trying to find you."

Keith leaned back against his desk and gaped at Lance. He felt like he just got punched in the chest. "They can't do that. We're not ready."

"I know. And were you listening to the best part? Hunk isn't my partner anymore, he's yours. They swapped him with Pidge."

"Pidge? No!"

"Do you see why we're freaking out now?" Lance got out of the chair and stood next to Keith. "Sorry for losing my shit, dude. But we're all really scared. Pidge doesn't even think she can pass without you."

"I can't do it without her, either." Keith kicked his boot back against the desk, rattling his laptop. "I thought I had it this time. Now I'm going to fuck it up and get held back a year."

"Hey, hey." Lance grabbed Keith's chin and yanked his head around to face him. "None of us are getting held back. Okay? We're in this together."

Keith jerked his head away and looked at his tablet. "Whatever. I don't even want to take it this time. They just want to see me fail again." He scrolled down to the first message and frowned. It was sent last night, sometime after Keith had passed out in Shiro's bed.

**Instructors_Office** : Your evaluation has been scheduled for 1200 Thursday. Please report to the simulator deck with your assigned partner(s) at that time. (Please note that teams may have been reassigned.)

"Please note that we are complete and total assholes," Lance said with a mocking tone. "They messaged Pidge and Hunk about the switch. Don't even tell the fighter pilots, right?"

Keith's shoulders slumped. "Where are they right now?"

"Camped out in Pidge's room. We have lots of snacks, we stole some from your closet." Lance slapped Keith on the back and headed for the door. "Come on, let's go eat our feelings."

Keith trudged after him, slamming his door switch harder than necessary. They made their way down to Pidge's dorm at the end of the hall and Lance grabbed Keith's arm, stopping him before he could open the door.

"Just a second. Did you really sleep in Shiro's room last night?"

Keith blinked at him. "Who cares?"

Lance's eyes bulged. He whooped and clapped his hands loudly, bending over to rest his hands on his knees and laughing. "Oh my _god._ This is real life. It's really happening."

"Are you done?" Keith stood with his hand hovering over the door switch.

"No, I'm never gonna be done. This is too good. Who bottoms? Shiro? Wait." Lance pointed a finger at Keith. "You've been in his dorm."

Keith just stared at him, his expression blank. He opened the door and started to walk inside.

"No, Keith, wait!" Lance hissed. "Does his shower have those railings for old people so they don't slip and fall? _Keith!"_

 

 

After Keith arrived, the four of them tried formulating a plan to deal with the upcoming evaluation. Their first idea involved criminal activity, and Pidge was the only one actually willing to do it.

"You really think I can't hack their system? It would take me ten, fifteen minutes tops. Just switch the names around and that's it!"

"Pidge, you are a devious bastard, and I love you for it," Lance said, tipping his head back and squirting cheez wiz into his mouth. "But no. If you get caught, they'll kick you out the front door so hard you'll have a boot lodged in your ass."

"I won't get caught," Pidge muttered, stabbing a yellow straw into a Capri Sun pouch. "It's not like you can come up with anything better."

She was right. Their next plan was even more ridiculous, proposed by Hunk in between heated games of Jenga.

"Okay, so. Keith needs to go into the simulator with me, and Lance needs to go with Pidge. Right? But they only verify our identities, like, visually."

Keith helped Lance rebuild the Jenga tower, listening to Hunk with a confused expression. "What are you getting at?"

Hunk clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "I don't have to _be_ Hunk Garett, I just have to _look_ like Hunk Garett! We put Pidge in a disguise and send her in with Keith, and bam, perfect scores all around."

Lance nodded and placed the last block on the tower, straightening the sides with his palms. "Interesting, interesting. Pidge, think you can gain a couple hundred pounds by Thursday?"

"I'll see what I can do."

Keith rolled his eyes. "I think you guys are missing something."

Hunk leaned forward to poke a block out from the bottom of the tower. "Yeah. I can't exactly make myself Pidge-sized."

"No," Keith said, pointing between himself and Lance.

Lance's eyebrows shot up. "I'm flattered, but I don't think that's going to solve anything."

Keith slapped a hand over his eyes. "I'm saying, why would Hunk and Pidge wear the disguises? We have close to the same build."

"Do we, though?" Lance stood and dragged Keith up with him, comparing their heights with his hand. "I have a couple inches on you. And you slouch a lot, very bad posture. I carry myself with grace," he said, puffing out his chest. "They'd see through the act right away."

Keith dropped back down to the floor and flicked a block from the center of the tower, hitting Lance in the leg with it. "Then think harder."

"What about Shiro?" Pidge asked, interrupting their bickering. "He's friends with some of the instructors, right? He's got inside access. He could find out what scenario we're being evaluated on, tell us, and we can train on it nonstop until Thursday."

Hunk rubbed his chin. "That's actually not a stupid idea."

"Yes, it is," Keith said. "We're not using him like that. He's our friend."

"A very special friend to some," Lance said with a smirk, and Keith shot him a look that ended the conversation.

They continued to pitch ideas to each other throughout the night, but the atmosphere in the room was growing hopeless. Keith laid on his back on the floor, playing on his tablet while Pidge put a horror movie on Netflix. Hunk tried pulling his bandana down around his eyes so he wouldn't have to watch, but Lance caught him, stealing the bandana off his head and tying it around his own neck loosely.

Keith told himself he wasn't going to bug Shiro, but it grew harder as the night dragged on. They hadn't come up with a plan yet and he felt like he was just days away from meeting his doom. He finally caved and opened Shiro's message window, deleting his message a few times before it sounded casual enough.

**kkogane** : hey, what are you up to?

Hunk let out a high-pitched shriek when a zombie burst onto the screen, chasing a woman down at full speed. Lance scoffed and called him a baby, but a minute later he was scooting over to sit in Hunk's lap.

**tshiro** : Nm you

Keith paused. Shiro never used shorthand in their messages. Why now?

**kkogane** : just hanging out, are you free to talk?  
**tshiro** : in a sec

Keith huffed and turned the screen off. Pidge offered an open sleeve of Oreos to him, but he declined, sitting up to watch the movie. Lance had his fingers wrapped around Hunk's thumb, holding it close to his chest.

"Don't open that door," Lance whispered to the screen. "Don't do it, don't do it-"

A door creaked open and lightning flashed as a rotting arm reached through the opening, clawing at the woman on the other side. Lance cried out and threw his Capri Sun at the screen.

"What'd I just say!"

Keith's tablet vibrated and he peeked down at the screen.

**tshiro** : Sorry, I can talk now. How are you? Are you in your dorm?

Pidge turned the lights off, prompting Keith to dim the screen on his tablet. Hunk and Lance protested loudly, demanding that Pidge turn the lights back on.

"It's a horror movie, you can't watch it with the lights on!"

"We just were! Keith, make her turn the lights on."

Keith laid back down on the floor and read Shiro's message again. "No. Turn them on yourself."

Lance started to get up, but then a zombie scampered across the screen on its hands and knees and Lance cowered back into Hunk's lap.

Keith still hadn't responded to Shiro. He wondered briefly if he had interrupted him during a stream. It had happened once before, but that time, Shiro had responded with full sentences. He rubbed his thumb along the edge of the tablet before replying.

**kkogane** : i'm fine, in pidge's dorm. did you just do a stream?  
**tshiro** : Were you watching?

So he was right. Keith wasn't sure why it hurt to read that, besides the fact that this was Shiro's first stream since their night together. He suddenly felt disillusioned, as if the last couple days had only happened in his head, but he did his best to ignore it in the company of his friends.

**kkogane** : no. just guessed  
**tshiro** : Sorry, you caught me right at the end.  
**tshiro** : Ready for training again tomorrow?  
**kkogane** : not really, there isn't much of a point now  
**tshiro** : Why do you say that?

Keith explained the situation to Shiro, still feeling bitter about the stream. Lance reached back and tried to tug Keith forward to watch the movie with them, but he kept his eyes on his tablet and shuffled his body away.

**tshiro** : I'm sure they have their reasons, but that's putting a lot on you. You must be overwhelmed.  
**kkogane** : yeah. kind of feel like dropping out at this point  
**tshiro** : Keith, don't say that. They're not going to hold you back for one bad evaluation.  
**kkogane** : see? you admit it's going to be bad  
**tshiro** : I mean that as a worst case scenario.  
**tshiro** : I know you'll find a way through this, you always do.

Keith turned the tablet off and dropped it onto the floor next to him. Shiro's can-do attitude was starting to grate on his nerves. He draped his arms over his face and closed his eyes as the sounds of growling and shrieking grew louder.

"Guys, the movie just gave me another idea. But, I can't say it out loud, and it might land us some prison time."

"Lance, just drop it."

 

 

When Keith finally made it back to his dorm, he was too tired to even turn the lights on. He set his alarm and stripped out of his uniform, falling face-first onto the bed. Something crinkled under his stomach and he rolled to the side, pulling a piece of notebook paper out from under him. Did he leave that there? He leaned over and flicked a lamp on.

_Keith,_

_Thought I'd let you keep this. The other one still smells like you. BL wore it tonight ;)_

Keith was smiling so hard his cheeks hurt. He almost felt embarrassed by Shiro's hand-drawn winky face, but he was too happy to care. He looked back down at the bed and realized he was sitting on one of Shiro's sweaters, this one black, with the name 'TAKASHI' embroidered in white over the left chest. He pulled it on over his head and turned the lamp off, flopping back down against his pillow. Keith ran his fingers over the lettering in the dark, still smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he was gonna give him the other sweater but blacklion nutted all over it. cut to shiro hunched over a washer in the laundry room carefully reading the instructions on a container of OxiClean
> 
> i'm yelling like i just won the lottery bc someone drew keith in the takashi sweater?! ty beautiful stranger ily: [NSFW link](http://pantiraiders.tumblr.com/post/151556256189/camboy-fic-update-got-me-pressed)


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